The Post (Ohio University)
September 21, 2007
Re: Bottled water: good for you, bad for the environment (Cathy Wilson, September 21, 2007)
Dear Editor:
Nestlé Waters shares Cathy Wilson’s concern for the environment and our company has taken significant steps to reduce its footprint. Our new Eco-shape bottle has the least plastic content of any half-liter bottle currently on store shelves. Plus, we make 98 percent of our single-serve PET bottles, eliminating the need to truck 160,000 loads of empty bottles into our plants, thus saving 6.6 million gallons of fuel per year.
Used water bottles make up less than one-third of 1 percent of the municipal solid waste that ends up in landfills today. To really make a difference, we need progressive recycling programs that would keep a greater number of all plastic containers - regardless of what they contain - out of landfills.
Missing from Wilson’s article is the fact that bottled water is a calorie-free, easily accessible alternative to sodas and other sugared beverages. Considering beverage calories have added a whopping 82,000 calories per year to our diets within the last decade, we should not discourage people from making a healthier lifestyle choice and drinking more water, whether it comes from a bottle or a tap.
Sincerely,
Jane Lazgin
Director, Corporate Communications
Nestlé Waters North America
777 West Putnam Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830
(203) 863-0111
