Our grandparents would have scoffed at the idea that water would become a mega-industry. Why would anyone who survived the depression pay for something they can get for free?
But as questions about the safety of tap water emerged, and the benefits of hydration took root, a new industry was born. Bottled water isn’t a category killer…we still consume lots of soda. It is a category creator.

But what happens when a category comes crashing down and becomes the enemy? And the case is mounting. Tapped, the bottled water version of Food, Inc. highlights the dangers of BPA. Today’s NYT chronicles the crusade of a woman in Concorde Mass to ban bottled water in her town. My colleague Mike Sacks recently blogged about the natural spring equivalent of overfishing, and Nestle’s Northwest fight.

However, this fight isn’t so simple. We are also inundated with information about pharmaceutical remnants in the water supply, and the dangers of tap water, and admonished that 8 glasses a day is the absolute minimum for good health.

What’s a responsible person to do?

The wisdom of the ages came from my ten year old son, Jack. He recently completed a science fair project on recycling and solemnly told me:

• Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles every year.
• A plastic bottle sits in a land fill for 450 years if we don’t recycle it.

Yup, a ten year old hit the issue right on the head. Clearly, the water companies need to solve the BPA problem. But the second half of the equation is about recycling….to preserve this business, “Big Water” needs to get active in recycling, and incentivize consumers to do it. If they don’t, legislators and regulators like those in Concord, Mass may do it for them.

cwinters General Corporate, Sustainability