1700 Diagonal Road, Suite 650 Alexandria, VA  22314 (703) 647-4611 Fax:  (703) 683-4074 Email: bhirst@bottledwater.org

 
Telling The Good Story:
The Bottled Water Industry's Perspectives on Ground Water Management and Environmental Impacts

During the summer of 2007 the bottled water industry has been increasingly scrutinized for many perceived and unsupported claims, from adverse impacts on the Nation's ground water supplies to recycling programs that fault the industry for significant contributions to the waste stream.  Several states have proposed and/or implemented ground water withdrawal taxes, fees, and bottle deposits to improve recycling programs and to capitalize on what they perceive is the promise of significant revenues to be realized from a growing bottled water industry.

The International Bottled Water Association has worked with our industry colleagues, government agencies, and advocacy groups to develop solutions to concerns, both real and perceived.  Bob Hirst and Pat Donoho will review IBWA's efforts over the past year to reach consumers and government, to advance the facts about the industry's record on environmental stewardship, and to educate all groups about bottled water's benefits as a healthy hydrating beverage alternative, our necessary partnership with public water systems, our role in emergency relief efforts after hurricanes and other natural and man-made disasters, and our team efforts with other food industries to improve recycling programs and further reduce the industry's overall environmental impact.

Finally, the USEPA Ground Water Rule will also be applied in some format by the Food and Drug Administration to bottled water, and IBWA has developed positions on how the Rule should address bottled water.  Bob and Pat will share the key components of IBWA's approach to a bottled water rule.

International Bottled Water Association – Presenters:

Bob Hirst, Vice President – Education, Science, and Technical Relations

Pat Donoho, Vice President – Government Relations