Coca-Cola launches US$9 bottled water in China, but will it sell?.
Coca-Cola has quietly launched its super-luxurious Swiss sparkling water – at twice the cost of a venti cappuccino from a well-known coffee chain – in China, but the question is will consumers from the world’s second largest economy fall for it.
Called Valser, the water appeared in the US soft drinks giant’s store on Chinese online marketplace Tmall two weeks ago, with an advertisement highlighting its source: “Switzerland.” The price for its 750ml Classic bottle is 64 yuan (US$9.29), which will get you two Starbucks cappuccinos in Beijing’s Wangfujing shopping strip or three McDonald’s burger meals.
The soft-drinks titan acquired Valser in 2002 for US$2.6 billion, though the Swiss water brand is little known outside its home, mostly available in upmarket retail outlets in cities such as Zurich and Geneva.
With consumer demand for sugary drinks sinking, Coca-Cola and its rival Pepsi have struggled to shore up sales of carbonated soft drinks by cutting the amount of sugar, while building up their bottled water businesses.
James Quincy, the company’s new chief executive, stressed in February that water and still drinks would be the focus of the Atlanta-based company.
“The underlying trend [of stills] is even better than what we jumped at in volume,” he said.
“The strategy is to participate in the categories of highest value in revenue and profitability.” In 2013, China overtook the United States to become the world’s biggest bottled water market by volume, growing from 19 billion litres annually to 37 billion litres from 2010 to 2015.
It is only in the past few years that Evian, Fiji and Perrier, two brands from France and one from Fiji, have gained a foothold in China, where the urban middle classes are in a race to upgrade everything they eat, drink and use.
The price of a 500ml bottle of Fiji is about 10 yuan, still way below Valser.

A plan to extend a major bottled water facility in Harrogate looks set to be approved despite the proposal attracting opposition. Harrogate Spring Water has submitted plans to build an extension to its facility in the town, to provide provide an additional 59,000 sq ft of floorspace and expand its production. The outline application, which will go before Harrogate Borough Council’s planning committee next Tuesday (9 May), has generated a total of 39 objections, with complaints ranging from the loss of woodland and greenfield land to the increased carbon footprint and loss of biodiversity. However, the expansion would drive significant…

In some cases, publicly-sourced tap may actually be safer since it is usually tested more frequently.
Across the globe, people drink roughly 10% more bottled water every year, but Americans continue to consume more packaged H2O than people in other countries do.
Last year was the first time Americans drank more bottled water than soda.
In fact, a recent report found that almost half of all bottled water is actually derived from the tap.
The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for conducting those tests.
However, if you live in one of the 15 million (mostly rural) US households that gets drinking water from a private well, the EPA isn’t keeping an eye on your water quality.
In a 2011 report, 13 percent of the private wells that geologists tested were found to contain at least one element (like arsenic or uranium) at a concentration that exceeded national guidelines.
A recent study from the International Bottled Water Association found that North American companies use 1.39 litres (45 oz) of water to make one litre of the bottled stuff.
So think twice the next time you consider buying a case of bottled water.
If you can’t find it, contact your local representative.

Effort to ban plastic water bottles in national parks would end under budget deal.
At the behest of the International Bottled Water Association, Congress is preparing to approve a must-pass budget bill that includes language aimed at restoring the sale of water in disposable plastic bottles in all national parks.
For nearly six years, national parks have had the option of banning bottled-water sales as a way to reduce plastic litter and waste management costs.
From Cape Hatteras to the Grand Canyon, more than 20 park units have instituted the ban after first installing public drinking-water stations for visitors carrying reusable bottles.
For the last three years, the bottled-water industry has lobbied Congress to help overturn the ban.
In 2015, Congress added a rider to a budget bill instructing the National Park Service not to expend any federal funds on the bottled-water ban.
Last year, Congress ordered the National Park Service to produce a report justifying why some parks had continued with the ban.
She and other advocates argue that many hikers and other visitors to national parks won’t opt for sodas if they can easily fill up containers – for free – from water stations.
In 2016, Calvert was a top recipient of campaign contributions from the bottled water industry, receiving $10,000, and those donations became an issue in his re-election campaign.
Calvert couldn’t be reached immediately for comment, but during his campaign last year he said his legislative action stemmed from “concerns with the park service policy that allows the sale of bottled soft drinks but bans the sale of bottled water.”

Bottled water is a scam for most Americans — but a new report reveals some surprising places where it’s dangerous to drink the tap.
People living near private wells do not enjoy the same rigorous testing as those whose water comes from public sources.
Typically, tap water is tested regularly for quality and contamination in accordance with laws from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In its new report, the NRDC documents more than 80,000 violations of the law by community water systems in 2015 alone.
"These violations included exceeding health-based standards, failing to properly test water for contaminants, and failing to report contamination to state authorities or the public."
But in 2015, this law was violated nearly 8,000 times by community water systems serving more than 14 million people, according to the report.
Formal enforcement action, or reporting the problem to the level where the EPA required the community water system to respond to a complaint, was taken in just 10% of cases.
Here’s a map from the report showing the number of people served by community water systems with at least one reported violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2015.
Populations are shaded at the county level to show the number of residents served by systems with violations that occurred that year.
Research suggests that the water from many of these wells is not safe to drink.

He and other students believe that completely eliminating the sale of disposable plastic water bottles on campus is the only way to achieve zero waste by 2020.
"We want to ban the sale of plastic water bottles because plastic is the No.
1 threat to marine ecosystems," said Mnatsakanian.
"Bottled water plants negatively affect surrounding communities, and annual purchases of bottled water are 2000 times more expensive than using tap water.
On top of that, tap water has significantly lower rates of potentially damaging substances."
The ban on plastic water bottles isn’t the first campaign aimed at decreasing their presence on campus.
"Breaking the Plastic Habit" was an SSC campaign in 2011 that pledged to eliminate the sale of plastic water bottles in dining halls and resulted in the installation of the first 10 hydration stations on campus.
The All Campuses Plastic Water Bottle Ban campaign plans to implement lasting policy not only at UC San Diego, but all UC campuses.
"Thanks to years of working with campus administration, UC San Diego Plastic Water Bottle Ban campaign leaders now have the expertise to teach student environmentalists at other campuses how to implement changes," said Mnatsakanian.
During this year’s event, Mnatsakanian directed Student Sustainability Collective leaders from campuses around the country about bypassing initiatives and aiming straight for policy changes.

UPDATE: Bottled water to be distributed as shut off reaches 12 hour mark.
BOTTLED water is to be distributed in parts of Swindon this morning as major problems with the supply look set to continue.
As of 7.30am, many homes and businesses across SN1 and SN3 had been without water for almost 12 hours.
Homes in some parts of Wroughton are also affected.
Homes and businesses were told that their water should be back to normal by midnight at the latest.
Refusing to rule out further stoppages, even for those whose supply has been restored for now, Thames Water said that bottled water supplies were en route to Swindon and due in the area by 8am.
Just after 9.30am, Thames Water informed residents via social media that water is available at Victoria House in Okus Road.
"We have now restored the water supply to the majority of the SN1 and SN3 areas that were affected yesterday evening.
While the absence of water has been frustrating for all those affected, it hit restaurants and bars in the Old Town area particularly hard.
Bank Holiday Sunday is a busy trading day and venues in the Wood Street and Victoria Road areas were packed with customers.

Ditch plastic bottles with this smartphone-activated water fountain.
The New York City-based technology startup is taking advantage of your smartphone to help you save the planet with a system of phone-activated water refill stations.
So as long as you have a reusable water bottle with you, you’ll be able to access unlimited cold, filtered tap water just about anywhere.
But a new Indiegogo campaign hopes to expand that presence to 100 locations across the city.
Last year, the Reefill team notes, U.S. bottled water sales topped $21 billion, bringing in more revenue than the soda industry.
There aren’t all that many public water fountains — at least, those that dispense water that you’d actually want to drink.
Reefill seeks to solve this problem by providing the public with a convenient water solution without waste and for a low cost.
Once users have arrived at the nearest fountain, they can activate the station using Bluetooth via the app, and fill up their bottles.
The app also keeps tabs on how many bottles Reefill user have saved from the landfill, as well as how much money members are saving by opting out of buying bottled water.
“Reefill’s pilot program has been a huge success and we have gotten great feedback from our users who let us know that they are eager to see a citywide network,” said Reefill Co-founder and CEO Jason Pessel.

Tap water is free!” Bruce just started an $11-an-hour job.
It’s vital.
“So is water from the faucet,” said I.
“The water from the tap has all sorts of chemicals in it.” “The water in bottles is tap water!” an older shelter guest chimed in, laughing heartily.
He added that “bottled water is not, on average, any cleaner or safer to drink than tap water.” Where bottled and tap are not equal is in the realm of pollution.
Producing a bottle of water actually uses about six times more water than is contained in the bottle itself.
And then there’s the energy used to make the bottle, make the label, fill the bottle and transport it (sometimes across entire oceans).
“So if you need the convenience of a water bottle,” I said to Bruce, “or if you love that particular bottle, at least reuse it.
Remember, Cervin added, we’re not eating the bottle; “we’re merely using it as a vessel to consume a beverage.” I didn’t have all this info at my fingertips at the shelter, but I did have some paper, so I taught Bruce and his friend how to make an origami cup the next time they are thirsty and don’t want to spend $3.
Then we filled the cups with tap water, toasted to better times and drank deep.

If you’re feeling a little dehydrated, you should take a look at the best-selling alkaline bottled water brands in America.
I’m pretty sure most of us are dehydrated and should be consuming more water, which is why there are so many apps that can help you stay on track and drink more water.
Neutral water has a pH of 7, so any water with a pH above 7 is considered alkaline.
If you’re really stuck on the idea of healthy bottled water, you should also take a look at some bottled water brands without fluoride.
Let’s now take a look at the best-selling alkaline bottled water brands in America.
Rating: 4.1 Noah’s Spring water is infused with magnesium and it has an 8.4 pH level.
Rating: 4.1 This water has a pH level of 8, but it’s not your ordinary bottled water.
The fulvic trace makes the water naturally black, which makes it feel fancy.
Rate: 4.2 This reverse osmosis, ionized water helps balance acidity and stress.
The 9.5 pH balance is really high and it’s undergone immense purification and mineralization, which is why it’s one of the best-selling alkaline bottled water brands in America.