Drinking bottled water pollutes much more than if you choose tap water, since the former generates tons of waste and emissions from transportation. However, most brands include green messages such as “Reconnect with nature” or “100% recyclable and recycled.” The European Consumer Organization (BEUC) and associations from 13 countries—among them, the Spanish OCU—have investigated the sector and have filed a complaint with the European Commission against the main packaging companies for ecopostureo (or greenwashing), considering that these messages fail to comply with European regulations. “We ask that non-compliant companies be sanctioned because they are deceiving the consumer,” says Ileana Izverniceanu, spokesperson for the OCU. The European employers’ association responds that the sector “is a pioneer in the circularity of packaging and attaches great importance to clear and transparent communication to the consumer.”
According to data from these entities, the average European consumer drinks about 118 liters of bottled water per year and 97% of this water is packaged in plastic containers. These containers are one of the main sources of plastic pollution in European seas, which receive thousands of tons of this waste every year. “The beverage industry resorts to recyclability claims that, according to this research, are too vague, inaccurate or insufficiently substantiated,” consumers criticize.
BEUC denounces “misleading” marketing slogans about the circularity of their products by major bottle packers of drinking water, such as Coca-Cola, Danone and Nestlé. Thus, they usually claim that they are “100% recyclable”, which depends on the recycling processes. According to the OCU, the recycling rate for PET plastic beverage bottle bodies is estimated to be only 55% in the European Union, and the possibility of it being converted back into a bottle is around 30%.
Another problematic slogan is “100% recycled,” as it implies that the bottle is made from recycled materials. “European legislation makes it clear that the cap and label of these bottles cannot be made from recycled plastic, so saying that it is 100% recycled is false advertising. But in addition, many companies use virgin plastic in the body of the bottle,” points out Izverniceanu.
Julio Barea, head of waste at Greenpeace – who has not participated in the complaint – points out that the sector generates very significant pollution: “We estimate that about 10 million bottles of water are sold every day in Spain, in different formats. But only 25% of the plastic containers collected by Ecoembes are recycled into other bottles. In Spain, plastic recovery is little and bad, what is recovered is of such poor quality that it cannot be reused. It even has to be imported from other countries.” Furthermore, “transport generates emissions, something that does not happen with tap water.”
Another complaint from European consumers is the use of ecological images on packaging: photographs or drawings of nature and green logos are used, which can lead to the idea of environmental neutrality or the total circularity of plastic, “and They can even give the impression that the bottles would have a positive impact on the environment,” notes the OCU.
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Carbon footprint
Nutritionist Juan Revenga, who has analyzed the sector, points out that “bottled water has a large carbon footprint, because the container has to be manufactured, taken to the bottling plant, then to the distribution point, then home, and then, in in the best case, to the recycling point, and if not to the landfill. And to think that you are doing something good for the environment is absurd, no matter how much label the bottle has.” In his opinion, “98.5% of Spaniards have safe, healthy and sanitary drinking water available on tap, so opting for plastic bottled water is nonsense. And that’s not to mention the price: the average cubic meter of tap water in Spain is 1.91 euros, while in the supermarket it can be 500 to 1,500 euros.”
The consumer complaint, which has also been submitted to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and state agencies, estimates that the advertising messages do not comply with European Union standards on unfair commercial practices. Therefore, they ask that the authorities stop these types of messages. “Aggressive advertising is causing more consumption of this water, which is not necessary, nor is it better, nor is it healthier. And above all, they use advertising that is not reliable, so they mislead the consumer,” summarizes Izverniceanu, from OCU.
The European association of the sector, Natural Mineral Waters Europe (NMWE), has issued a statement to respond to the accusations. “The beverage sector is a pioneer in packaging circularity and attaches great importance to clear and transparent communication with the consumer. The industry follows recognized regulations to design their PET bottles for recycling and guidance on consumer claims,” he notes. “Further improvements can be made to achieve harmonized standards in the EU through future regulations, such as the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and the Green Claims Directive, and have the best enablers to close the loop and achieve the full potential of circular packaging,” they add.
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Spain explains to EL PAÍS: “We care about the impact of each drink we sell and we are committed to growing our business in the right way. “We are working to reduce the amount of plastic packaging we use and investing to collect and recycle the equivalent of the packaging we use.” Furthermore, “we only communicate messages on our packaging that can be justified, and we clearly display the relevant qualifications so that consumers can make informed decisions. Some of our packaging carries messages to raise awareness about recycling, such as whether it is recyclable and whether it is made with recycled content.”
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