I read with interest the article written by Wes Keller that appeared in the January 14, 2009, edition of the Orangeville Citizen entitled, "Council approves strategy on bottled water ban."

In the piece, Mr. Keller quotes information provided to Dufferin County by East Garafraxa Mayor Allen Taylor as indicating that it takes "three litres of water to produce a single litre of bottled water;" in Canada, "nearly 90 percent of plastic water bottles are not recycled;" and "an estimated 2.4 million tonnes of plastic is used to bottle water around the world."

Each of these pieces of information is incorrect and represents the kind of misinformation one typically finds on the Internet. According to Agriculture Canada, it takes 1.3 litres of water to make one litre of bottled water.

According to various provincial government and industry organizations responsible for the collection of such information, about 60 percent of plastic beverage containers were recycled across Canada in 2007. According to Stewardship Ontario, plastic water bottles account for onefifth of one percent of the total waste stream in Ontario. If the bottled water industry were to disappear tomorrow, there would be no appreciable difference in the volume of refuse going to landfill.

As for the amount of plastic used by the bottled water industry to produce a container, the industry is one of the most efficient users of plastic by weight and one of the smallest users of the compound by volume in the beverage industry. For example, the bottled water industry is half the size of the soft drink industry.

Finally, Mr. Keller editorializes that Nestlé Waters Canada President Gail Cosman's argument for continued consumer choice is "an obvious plea for a continuation of the availability of bottled water in vending machines." That is incorrect. Ms. Cosman makes the argument for choice on a point of principle. Nestlé Waters Canada does not sell its products in Dufferin County in vending machines. It sells its products through grocers and convenience stores, which are not affected by municipal bans on bottled water.

While our industry finds the publication of such mis-information troubling, we are more disappointed by the fact that neither the public or ourselves were consulted by Dufferin County Council before it made its decision on this matter and, further, that this mis-information may have formed the basis for that decision.

Our industry and the several hundred taxpayers of Dufferin County who are employed by our industry remain optimistic that common sense will prevail and Dufferin County Council will re-visit this matter with us.

John B. Challinor II

APR _Director of

Corporate Affairs

Nestlé Waters Canada

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Bottled Water's 15 Minutes are Up: It's Time to 'Turn on the Tap' in Dufferin County

Toronto's recent decision to ban the sale and distribution of bottled water on city premises was a watershed moment for water justice advocates the world over. What was truly significant about Toronto's action was not that it banned an environmentally harmful product, but that it included a commitment to ensuring access to tap water in all city facilities.

In the past year Canadians have made a commitment to public water services. Across the country municipalities, schools and universities, faithbased organizations, restaurants and unions have stood up for Canada's water services by restricting the provision and sale of bottled water. Increasingly across the country, municipal leaders are showing that there is a strong political will for reinvestments in public water services. To date 17 municipalities from five provinces have banned the bottled and gone "Back to the Tap".

In Canada, municipal water systems are among the safest and strongest in the world. Meanwhile bottled water costs more, is less regulated, consumes more energy and releases more harmful toxics. However, access to municipal drinking water is dwindling with new buildings constructed without water fountains and older ones decommissioning existing fountains. Now is the time to issue strong calls to all levels of government for greater public access to free potable water and a wholesale reinvestment in water infrastructure and services

It's becoming clear that the recent love affair with bottled water has reached its limits. Bottled water's 15 minutes are up, the marketing scam is out of the closet and the tap is back. The simple fact is that there is no "green" solution to bottled water. While it might serve a function during natural disasters or other contingencies, it is no alternative to the tap.

Dufferin County and other municipalities in Canada are making the right choice to support public water infrastructure and to increase city residents' access to clean, convenient and environmentally sound drinking water - the only question now is after Dufferin County, which municipality will be next.

Joe Cressy

Polaris Institute

Joe Cressy is the Campaign Coordinator of the Polaris Institute in Ottawa and a member of the www.insidethebottle. org campaign on bottled water.

- - o- - In regards to Wes Keller's article, "County approves strategy on bottled water ban," I wanted to clarify some information regarding PET plastic that I believe is incorrect. In the article Wes mentions that a county report stated that, "In Canada, nearly 90% of plastic water bottles are not recycled."

According to our sources at NAPCOR (http://www.recyclingtoday. com/news/news.asp ?ID=14331) and Stewardhip Ontario (http://www.stewardshipontario. ca/bluebox/eefund /projects/audits/waste_audit.h tm), in 2007 between 60-80% of PET containers were recycled in Canada, depending on the province.

Wes also referenced the county report stating that, "the plastic bottles are not fully recyclable."

However, most single-serve plastic bottles people use every day - such as those for water, soft drinks and juices - are made with polyethylene terephthalate (PET), designated by the recycling symbol "# 1," which is safe and fully recyclable.

I hope that in future articles, Wes and your publication better source the recyclability of PET and its Canadian recycling rate.

Josh Waller FactsonPET@gmail.com