Cory,

Thanks for e-mail. Like you, we agree that water is the most precious resource for the planet.

In talking with staff at the City, it is my understanding that London's new ban was due entirely to environmental concerns. Fortunately, our company, Global Spectrum Facility Management takes an aggressive and proactive approach to being "green" with a company-wide intiative called "Step-Up". We have become leaders in our industry for our approach to reduce, reuse, recycle. Specifically at the John Labatt Centre, we had instituted a recylcing program during the past year as one component of this initiative. This program has seen amazing results; the patrons at our concerts, sporting events and other entertainment events have resoundingly embraced our initiatives. We are nearing 100% recycling of all our recyclable products/packaging. I am not sure about your source for the number of water bottles we produced last year, but our records show a number about half of that - but, in any case, virtually all of them were recycled.

We had previously explored the option of allowing patrons to bring in refillable bottles. After researching within our industry, we came to the conclusion that due to safety and alcohol related concerns it is not viable policy for us. Unfortunatley we have a percentage of patrons that attempt to sneak in alcohol to our various events. The security involved in guarding against these types of actions, in the best of situations, is a difficult task for our staff to manage. By adding the ability to bring in outside containers increases the oportunity, for those inclined, to attempt to circumvent the conditions of our Alcohol Licensing. This puts our operation at significant risk.

In terms of safety, there is always a concern of metal objects being thrown in the crowd, at the stage or on the ice. Another safety issue to be considered is allowing unknown substances into the venue via water bottles; I am sure you have experienced the "no liquid bottles" policies banning liquid containers from going through security checkpoints at North American airports. We are responsible for the safety of the 750,000 patrons that visit the facility annually and take it very seriously.

We do have drinking fountains located throughout the facility and provide cups (which are recycled!) for the patrons' use.

Again, thank you for your note. I hope I have helped you understand our recycling program and our operation a bit better.

Sincerely,
Brian E. Ohl
General Manager, John Labatt Centre
Regional Vice President, Global Spectrum

RE: A Bottled Water Challenge to the John Labatt Centre from Council of Canadians.



Dear Brian,

In response to your response letter below:

Thank you for your response. We are pleased to see that the John Labatt Centre is receptive to becoming a ‘green’ corporate entity. One thing is certain. Bottled water is not sustainable. We will not find a solution by stating there is no problem. We trust you will acknowledge that recycling single, one time use water bottles is not the answer and we welcome you to work with the Council of Canadians in finding a meaningful solution.

For clarity we must inform you that the recycling these enormous amounts of plastic water bottles per year that your facility retails and then recycles is not ‘green’. Yes – it is better than going to the landfill – but no – it is not ‘green’ by any stretch of the imagination. Bottled water contributes to vast amounts of pollution and climate change. In an era when the world is dealing with the impacts of climate change, the bottled water industry requires massive amounts of precious and dwindling fossil fuels to manufacture. The manufacturing of bottled water creates massive amounts of CO2 emissions and places great strains on aquifers. Aquifers and whole water sheds are under sever threat due to this practice. All of this in the midst of an alarming global water crisis. In India, whole river systems, such as the River Bhavani in Tamil Nadu state, have been sold to Coca-Cola even as the state is suffering the worst drought in living memory. As one company explains, water is now a "rationed necessity that may be taken by force".

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, bottled water has dire consequences on our lives, our health, our environment, and those most vulnerable - yet most of this is carefully hidden from view by way of careful branding and deceptive greenwashing practices.

The bottled water industry is growing at an annual rate of 20%. Last year, nearly 100 billion litres of bottled water were sold around the world, most of it in non-renewable plastic. A close look at the myths about recycling shows they are being perpetrated less by those committed to ecology and more by those doing the most damage to the planet.

Plastics recycling only minimally reduce the amount of virgin resources used to make plastics. Recycled plastic is a small percentage of what is manufactured and the amount is actually decreasing. Even those active in administering recycling programs have come to recognize, for instance, that plastics consumption is actually encouraged by recycling.

The notion, that recycling is the answer produces only more illusions, not environmental sustainability. Outrageous levels of production and consumption are at the core of market economies, and unless that process is confronted, little will change. John Labatt Centre has an opportunity to model leadership and embrace this much needed positive change. The bottom line is that there is no need for bottled water to be sold in a facility that provides us adequate access to municipal drinking water. Bottled water is a habit that undermines the safety of tap water and commodifies a natural resource that's a public commons. We must challenge the idea of convenience and make a commitment. As responsible global citizens we must work towards a zero waste, sustainable culture for the future of our planet and for future generations. Our children deserve nothing less.

70 million bottles of water are sold in the U.S. every day.

38 billion single-use water bottles end up in U.S. landfills and waterways leaching toxins into our earth and water every year.

Bottled water production, transportation and disposal required more than 17 million barrels of oil last year in America alone, enough fuel to power more than 1 million cars for a year, generating more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.

9 billion gallons of bottled water is consumed each year in the U.S.

The amount of fuel required to transport water bottles in the U.S. alone is equivalent to 38,000, eighteen-wheel wheel trucks delivering water weekly.

Over 2.5 billion tons of plastic are used to produce single-use water bottles every year. This results in over 1.5 million tons of plastic waste – requiring 47 million gallons of oil every year.

Bottled water companies, water to production ratios are roughly 3 to 1; for every 3 liters of freshwater that the bottled water industry takes from the earth only 1 liter of bottled water is actually produced.

Although two-thirds of the Earth is water, only 2% is drinkable freshwater. However, 1.6% of the total 2% is locked up in polar ice-caps. According to the United Nations 17 years from now, by 2025, over two-thirds of our world’s population will not have enough water to sustain the basics of life.

More about recycling:

Although all plastic containers bear the chasing arrows symbol with a number in the middle, suggesting that all such products are recyclable, it is only 1s and 2s that can be. There is no market for bottles numbered 3 through 7. Most of the products which are manufactured from what is recycled, cannot be recycled a second time. Therefore, what you set out at your curb is only one generation away from a landfill. Recycling PET is similar to the polyethylenes. Bottles may be color sorted and are ground up and washed. Unlike polyethylene, PET sinks in the wash water while the plastic caps and labels are floated off. The clean flake is dried and often repelletized. PVC bottles are hard to tell apart from PET bottles, but one stray PVC bottle in a melt of 10,000 PET bottles can ruin the entire batch.

Equipment to sort plastics is being developed, but currently most recyclers are still sorting plastics by hand (by the impoverished and exploited in developing countries) which is hard and ugly work. It is also expensive and time consuming. Plastics also are bulky and cumbersome to collect. In short, they take up a lot of space in recycling trucks. Although in theory all plastic is recyclable, market forces, transportation costs and handling constraints often make recycling plastic prohibitively expensive. This is a tax burden being unfairly being placed upon the citizens of London.

Currently only about 3.5% of all plastics generated is recycled, compared to 34% of paper, 22% of glass and 30% of metals. At this time, plastics recycling only minimally reduce the amount of virgin resources used to make plastics. Recycling papers, glass and metal, materials that are easily recycled more than once, saves far more energy and resources than are saved with plastics recycling. The recycling rate for all PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, which represent 44 percent of total plastic bottle production, dropped to 25 percent. PET soda bottles, which represent one fourth of all plastic bottles produced, and nearly two thirds of all PET bottles, dropped to 36 percent last year. Plastic bottle recycling has not kept pace with the dramatic increases in virgin resin PET sales, particularly for PET bottles. Most of the increase in virgin resin sales has been for single-serve PET soda bottles (under 24 oz) that now make up 60 percent of soda bottle market share.

When glass, paper and cans are recycled, they become similar products which (theoretically) can be used and recycled over and over again. With plastics recycling, however, there is usually only a single re-use. Some soda bottles make it to a recycler who must scramble to find a buyer, and often ends up selling the bottles at a loss to an entrepreneur who makes carpeting or traffic strips, anything but new bottles. And what is the plastic bottling industry doing to create a stronger recycling market for its product? Nothing.

You state that the solution is to ensure maximum recycling of the single use water bottles. The true solution is to not produce them in the first place. Since the beginning of life on earth as we know it – human life has been sustained with no dependence on bottled water. In fact, bottled water is the single biggest scam ever put over on the public on an enormous global scale. Consider what Jeff Caso, a Nestle executive has to say about their bottled water products; “We sell water, so we have to be clever.”

We hope you will engage with Council of Canadians and work with us to find a meaningful solution.

Sincerely,
Cory Morningstar
Council of Canadians President London Chapter