Bottled water has been banned at city-owned sites in London, Ont. since 2008. And, despite an effort by Nestlé to have the policy reversed, the city upheld its decision.
Mayor Joe Fontana, who was elected last fall after 22 years in federal office, was among three politicians at a committee meeting who backed the company's argument that users of municipal facilities were being denied a healthier option than cans of soda pop.
Yet, three London city councillors reinforced the view that water fountains were dispensing water for free, without the estimated one-quarter to one-half of plastic bottles ending up in the trash rather than recycling bins. A tie vote meant the ban remains intact.
"Denying people the opportunity to buy water is philosophically dumb to me," Fontana said after a presentation from a Nestlé official, who likely wouldn't have had any greater luck attempting to overturn similar bans in the City of Toronto and all of Nova Scotia.
The Polaris Institute, established in 1997, has been at the forefront of a campaign against the packaged water industry through its website, Inside the Bottle.
Currently, the institute is running a campaign to encourage new Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson to follow the lead of 81 other municipalities, four municipal associations, 10 universities and eight school boards that banished its sale from their buildings.
A recent online debate between Polaris Institute executive director Tony Clarke and Nestlé corporate affairs director John Challinor focused on whether or not Canada should stop bottled water sales.
"We are investing heavily to establish public space recycling programs nationally," argued Challinor, "which includes continuous public education related to recycling and littering."
The second annual Bottled Water Free Day, scheduled for March 10, will attempt to further the view that the successful promotion of packaged water in the past decade or two has led to money being diverted from municipal water and sewer infrastructure.
Students, in particular, are being encouraged to take a pledge to not buy bottled water in places where a fountain is available.
Still, the same debate seems to occur at every local meeting where a formal ban is proposed, on the grounds there's no need to regulate its distribution.
A school in St. Albert, Alta. emphasized its drive to encourage kids to use reusable bottles was primarily motivated by the desire to support small-scale farmers in Indonesia and Ecuador being denied access to water by large companies.
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