Do you remember last time we talked, that I told you about my new friend from France! Her name is miss Evian, she is very lean and elegant, and she speaks English in a funny way. She keeps on telling me: “ I want to return to my maison in France!” She sure is silly, I don’t even know what a “maison” is! The word does sound funny “mai –son”. Maybe she means to say “my son” but her French accent makes the word sound strange. Oh, but I do hope she doesn’t have a son! She seems so young! If she has a son does that also mean that she has a husband bottle? Well not that I care!

Anyways, the other day miss Evian was telling me about this beautiful place where all the nicest and prettiest water bottles get send to the Rice- Castle! She told me it is a lovely castle where rich people go to sleep and eat in gold plates. Wait, it wasn’t called Rice -Castle, I think it was something more like Ritz- Carlot…Oh I know, I know the Ritz-Carlton! Well, miss Evian isn’t being very nice, since she thinks she is better than the rest of us, the other water bottles from the super market and that she should be in a prettier place. What she doesn’t know is that Mrs Goldendiamondy, the oldest water bottle in the super market, who knows a lot of grown up things, told me that the Ritz-Carlton doesn’t like plastic water bottles anymore. According to Mrs Goldendiamondy, 73 of the Ritz Carlton castles have blocked the entrance to us simple plastic water bottles and have chosen “plant-based, biodegradable materials for special water bottles”.  Bio-de-gra-da-ble, that sounds like a very long and complicated word for grown-ups.  I want to be a special water bottle!! I want to be a super “bio-gra-da-ble” bottle! Not quit sure what it means, but it does sound pretty cool to me! Almost like the name of a super hero bottle!

When I asked Mrs Goldendiamondy why miss Evian could not entre the Rice-Carlote Castle she says that us, water bottles from the supermarket we are “old and made from crude oil and we take way to much energy to be produce”. Again with that thing called “oil”! It must really be a bad bad thing from the way everyone talks about it!  Well, anyways, Mrs Goldendiamondy – Gosh that is a funny name!! – also told me that people at the Carlton Castle prefer the new bio-de-gra-da-ble bottles because they cost the same price or even cheaper than we do but they are much nicer to the environment and much easier to transport. My cousin the bottled water from Chicago even told me that over there, the plastic bottles are now 5 cents more expensive so that way less people will want to buy them! That is funny, no everyone is against us! Well I am sure things would be different if all of us were bio-gra-da-ble, no wait, I think it was something like bio-de-gra-da-ble! Well, either way, I think Miss Evian won’t be too happy when she hears of this! Well, it is not so so bad in the end that the people for the Ritz Castle don’t want miss Evian, that way she can stay with us at the supermarket!

Last time we talked I told you about my daddy PET and my mummy WATER. Well since I have been sitting in this superstar, oh…no wait…what was it called again?? Oh right, the supermarket! What was I saying, right, since I have been sitting in this supermarket well I have been feeling pretty lonely without my dad and mom. Water, my mom, tells me she is doing lovely, she lives in a lovely peaceful environment with trees, birds and sunshine. For some reason, my mom still won’t explain what are those feathery things called “birds”. Maybe it is something only grownups can understand.

Now that I have to spend all my day in this cold fridge at least I have had some time to make friends with the other bottles sitting next to me. In this multi-cultural environment, I have made friends with water bottles that come from all over the world. Last night, when all the people in the supermarket left, and it got dark all of a sudden, I met this French bottle who just got in last night. She is elegant and nice but seems a bit nostalgic; maybe she misses her home. The French bottle was very tired last night, she told me she traveled all the way from France from her home spring called “Evian”. What a funny name don’t you think?? She traveled by road, her transportation all the way to America required 5.8 MJ. That is a long way to travel and it most have cost a lot of time and energy to bring her here. It’s funny, because we already have so much water in America, I wonder why all this trouble to bring the poor bottle so far away from her hometown Evian. Well, right now she is sleeping, so I guess I am going to have to wait until tomorrow to ask her more questions about her trip. But what if she is gone by tomorrow afternoon??? Oh no, that would be so sad for me to loose a new friend. The other night I heard the King of the supermarket talking and he said that Americans consume about 33 billion litres of bottled water a year! That’s a lot of us! By the way, what does “consume” means?! Anyway, he was saying this is the equivalent in energy terms of around 50 million barrels of oil!! Can you imagine all that oil?? Well…to be honest I can’t…I’am not even sure what that funny word “oil” means…! But still, that just doesn’t sound to good to me…. Plus 33 billion litres, that is a ridiculous amount of bottles disappearing every year. I hope they won’t take miss Evian away from me just yet! Tonight sure is a lonely night, maybe I should wake up miss Evian and ask her to tell me more about her adventurous trip to America….

(Data source: http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/news/38143)

Fiji water’s is reducing its amount of carbon in the atmosphere by cutting emissions across the products entire life cycle. Efforts are made also to invest in forest carbon and renewable energy projects to reach the carbon negative. When measuring the water’s carbon footprint Fiji count emissions for everything it takes to get it into the consumer’s hands — starting at production of our raw materials and all the way through consumption. “Although it is optional for companies to report emissions from steps outside their control, we consider it necessary so that you can understand the true environmental impact of the products you use.” (2008 Report: http://www.fijigreen.com/assuranceReport.pdf)

Measuring FIJI water’s carbon footprint showed at the company how to best reduce it, for example by using less packaging materials, incorporate more recycled materials, use less energy at the bottling facility, use more carbon-efficient transportation.

Packaging:

The Company declares that will reduce the amount of packaging they use to make the products they sell by 20% and increase the use of recycled materials. They also claim to reduce manufacturing waste at the Fiji bottling facility by 33%. They have started experiments like the production of lighter bottles, the result of the reduction of bottle weight will be measurable next year. The cardboard cartons are containing already about 55% of recycled content, the objective is to improve the percentage.

Bottling:

The Company declares that by 2010 they will supply at least 50% of the energy for the bottling facility and company-owned vehicles from renewable sources, and wind is the most viable renewable energy source for their bottling facility. Talking about renewable energy FIJI Water is making the bottling facility more energy efficient so that each bottle requires less energy to produce.

Transportation:

The Company is actually optimizing the logistics to keep the product on container for more of the distance to market. They assert that of the principal transport modes – ocean, air and rail – ocean freight is the most fuel-efficient and produces the fewest emissions per ton carried and distance traveled. For example to send FIJI water to New York City while the route to Panama Canal takes about three times long to get to destination, it results in 55% fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Recycling Efforts:

The Company invites to help by recycling the packaging, reducing the carbon footprint of the bottle by 25%.

“One ton of recycled plastic saves 5,774 kWh of electricity and 685 gallons of oil (U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming). But all bottled water (not just FIJI Water) comprises only 0.33% of U.S. municipal solid waste (Sustainable Life Media, October 2007).

So, please remember to recycle all eligible materials, not just FIJI Water bottles and other beverage containers. For example, cardboard is recyclable too — one ton of recycled cardboard saves 17 trees and 9 cubic yards of landfill space (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

Please call your city and state officials if you do not have access to curbside recycling. To express your support for container deposit legislation, you can find and contact your federal, state and local officials at Congress.org.”

(Source: http://www.fijigreen.com/HowYouCanHelp.html)

The Company also says that:

“There has been much debate about the use of petroleum in the making of plastic water bottles. Our environmental impact is minimal, however, particularly compared to that of other industries. More importantly, it is constantly improving. First, FIJI Water is bottled in 100 percent recyclable containers. As an industry, making plastic water bottles accounts for a miniscule 0.02 percent of America’s oil consumption, and plastic water bottles contribute only one-third of 1 percent to the municipal waste stream. Nonetheless, FIJI Water has always been an industry leader in environmental stewardship, and we are constantly working to improve our environmental footprint. We are committed to reducing the material in our packaging by 20% by 2010, becoming more energy efficient, and improving recycling rates in the U.S. and all of our key markets.”

(Source: http://www.fijigreen.com)

While other comments on the number one of imported bottles:

“FIJI® Water is natural artesian water bottled at the source in Viti Levu (Fiji islands) since 1996. Roll International acquired FIJI Water in 2004 and has since tripled the business, making it the No. 1 imported bottled water brand in the United States.

With more than 500 employees in 11 countries, FIJI Water became the nation of Fiji’s leading exporter in 2008, and its operations are vital to Fiji’s economic development. More than 300 Fijians are employed at the plant in Yaqara, holding some of the highest-paying manufacturing jobs in the country.

FIJI Water is committed to quality and excellence in its product, people, profitability and strategic partners. The company is also dedicated to communicating the passion and unique properties of its brand to consumers worldwide.”

(Source: http://www.roll.com/fiji-water.php)

FIJI Water used the WRI/WBCSD Greenhouse Gas Protocol (http://www.ghgprotocol.org/) to measure the carbon footprint. ICF International (http://www.icfi.com/), a global leader in analyzing emissions inventories and providing advice on climate strategy, has independently reviewed and verified the carbon footprint.

Are you looking for one easy, smart and cheap solution? Three simple words are the answer: water-filter-system!

While water filters are not inexpensive, they do improve the taste of tap water while getting reducing its impurities and chemicals. If you were to compare a glass of bottled water to a glass of tap water, you would see for yourself a notable difference. After a few seconds, the glass of tap water will appear cloudy and will have a funny smell. The glass of bottled water will be clear and free of any funny smells. Now that this experiment has proven my point, you need to understand that a water filter will bring you the same results as a glass of bottled water,  but at a much cheaper cost.
There are various types of water filtration systems on the market that are meant to fulfill each and every specific need. Depending on the type of filter you choose, some will be more effective in removing certain substances than others. For instance, some filters are meant to remove lead while others take care of chlorine. Yet, in order to get rid of micro-organisms, you will need another type of filter.

Various water filtration methods can be employed based on the specific demand: distillation and basic filtration are the most common ones. Distillation is most likely the oldest and more simple form of water filtration. The procedure consists of “boiling water until the vapor rises to a condenser where cooler water lowers the temperature so that the vapor can condense and afterwards be collected and stored” (Source: http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water-education/quality-water-filtration-method.htm#Anchor-Microporous-35882). The greatest disadvantage of such procedure is the cost in energy  and the considerable amount of water that it requires.  A small inconvenient  is that often small particles like herbicides remain in the water and are very hard to take out.

Basic filtration consists of using screen filters with specific pore dimension in order to retain and block all chemical particles when the liquid passes through the filter. ” Screen filter are inherently uniform structure which, like a sieve, retain all particles larger than the precisely controlled pore size on their surface. On the other hand, surface filters are made form multiple layers” (Source: http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water-education/quality-water-filtration-method.htm#Anchor-Microporous-35882). The use of the appropriate filter is very important considering the vary in kinds and that the depth filters will only serve to remove the most obvious particles.

“The chlorine filter and the filter to remove lead are intended for use with water that has already been tested and proven safe” (source: http://www.allwaterfiltrationsystems.com/).  Before buying a filtration system,  my advice to you do  an evaluation of your water in order to better understand your specific needs.

You can purchase a simple water test kit from your local plumbing supply company and test your water yourself, or contact your city hall and request a copy of your town’s annual water report.

With the reckless attitude society has in had in past decades, water sources are becoming more and more polluted with chemicals, toxic metals and various types of bacteria. In today’s world and especially for the future of our children, it is absolutely unacceptable to continue with the degradation of our water supplies. It will take complicated processes and lot of time for water sources to be cleaned up. In the mean time, in order to save time and money and to stop wasting plastic, water filters are a simple and ecological answer.

Did you know, for example, that for every ton of PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) produced, 3 tons of carbon dioxide are released? Energy is required to fill bottles with water, and also for the process of transportation, refrigeration, recycling and disposal of water bottles. We can visually represent the energy embodied in a water bottle by filling one quarter of the bottle with oil. This is because it can take 250mL of oil to produce 1L of bottled water. According to a 2001 report of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), roughly 1.5 million tons of plastic are expended in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year.

Spring water is extracted from natural sources. Other bottled water is simply water from the municipal water supply that has been subjected to additional treatment.

Consumers may claim that bottled water is convenient and that it tastes better than tap water. This is without forgetting that it is presented as the healthy alternative to sugared drinks. But the health arguments for bottled water are overstated. The choice is not one between sugared drinks and bottled water, but between bottled water and tap water. Bottled water is costly: both for the wallet and for the environment. We closely monitor the price of petrol, but are prepared to pay twice as much for a liter of bottled water than we pay for a liter of petrol to fuel our cars.

There are many interesting initiatives which highlight how the transport of bottled water can be a considerable source of damage to the environment. For example The Story of Bottled Water, released March 22 2010 on storyofbottledwater.org, employs the Story of Stuff style to tell the story of manufactured demand—how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when it already flows from the tap. It is worth checking out their unique website at http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/about/.

FIJI Water is an interesting example of an ethical company; it  has done a lot of research to disclose the carbon footprint of its products. They’ve joined the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration, and launched a new website at Fijigreen.com in support of their efforts to become carbon negative. Following the notion that measurement is the first key step to managing emissions, a bottled water company is branding itself green!

There are several surveys made to understand how the transport of bottled water impacts the environment. It is interesting to know that Pet-bottled water requires three transportation phases:

1. pet-preforms and raw materials transportation from producing sites to bottling plant:

- by trucks;

- average distance: 200 km;

- average fuel consumption (diesel): 3 km/L

2. Packaged bottles transportation from bottling plant to stores:

- by train (18%) and by trucks (82%);

- average distance: based on each company’s market and plant location;

- average trucks fuel consumption (diesel): 3 km/L

3. Packaged bottles (18 each time) transportation from stores to final user’s site:

- by gasoline car (50%) or diesel car (50%);

- average distance: 10 km;

- average fuel consumption: 12 km/L (gasoline) and 15 km/L (diesel)

source: http://sto​ryofstuff.​org/bottle​dwater/abo​ut/

In order to have a better understanding of the process and the long and expensive and damaging travel of a water bottle before it actually gets on the shelf of your local supermarket , read the amusing and unique story we have posted: The Story of a Water Bottle Episode 1.