Free Enterprise vs. the Nanny State

Should the sale of bottled water be banned at municipal-owned venues?

Presently in Canada, 11 municipalities and two school boards have banned the sale of bottled water on their properties over the past three years. Thirty-six local governments have rejected the calls for bans over the last eight months. Another 17 jurisdictions are currently reviewing their options.

In my November/December 2008 editorial in CWT, I called for a ban on bottled water bans across Canada. In my view, the arguments for banning the sale of bottled water just hold water. If a municipality bans a legal product it should, at a minimum, have a set of rules by which it can decide if any product should be made available at its snack bars and vending machines. How many of these products would pass the same rules being applied to bottled water? Here are some popular snack bar items and reasons for banning them from municipally-owned facilities. How could they be replaced?

Before a municipality chooses to ban bottled water, I recommend that it answer the following series of questions with respect to the social, economic, and environmental consequences of the ban. These questions could be applied to all products it is currently selling, too.

Health and Environmental

• Has a life-cycle analysis been conducted on the product? If so, is there an alternative product that has a reduced environmental footprint?
• Is the packaging reusable or compostable? Does the vendor have a take-back program for the packaging?
• Is the product pesticide-free?
• Was the product made using certified organic ingredients?

Social

• Was the product made by a company that has operations in countries that support terrorism?
• Was the product made by a company that also has a division(s) that makes weapons, pesticides, cigarettes, alcohol, or asbestos-containing products?
• Was the product made a company that has operations in developing countries and does not pay fair wages or proper health and safety rules to protect workers?
• Was the product grown and produced locally?
• How is the local economy positively impacted by the sale of product at a municipal venue?
• What is the net gain/loss of jobs in the local area?

Economic

• Will people buy the product?
• How much can we charge?

What are your views on the bottled water bans? Let us know.

John Nicholson, M.Sc., P.Eng, is the editor of Canadian Water Treatment.