Aquafina is tap water.

[Wilson]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/07/27/pepsico.aquafina.reut/index.html

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- PepsiCo Inc. will spell out that its Aquafina bottled water is made with tap water, a concession to the growing environmental and political opposition to the bottled water industry. According to Corporate Accountability International, a U.S. watchdog group, the world's No. 2 beverage company will include the words "Public Water Source" on Aquafina labels.
"If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do," said Michelle Naughton, a Pepsi-Cola North America spokeswoman.


Pepsi Chief Executive Indra Nooyi told Reuters earlier this week the company was considering such a move.


Pepsi's Aquafina and Coca-Cola Co's Dasani are both made from purified water sourced from public reservoirs, as opposed to Danone's Evian or Nestle's Poland Spring, so-called "spring waters," shipped from specific locations the companies say have notably clean water.
Coca-Cola Co. told Reuters it will start posting online information about the quality control testing it performs on Dasani by the end of summer or early fall.


"Concerns about the bottled-water industry, and increasing corporate control of water, are growing across the country," said Gigi Kellett, director of the "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign, which aims to encourage people to drink tap water.


San Francisco's mayor banned city employees from using city funds to buy bottled water when tap water is available. Ann Arbor, Michigan passed a resolution banning commercially bottled water at city events and Salt Lake City, Utah asked department heads to eliminate bottled water.
Critics charge the bottled water industry adds plastic to landfills, uses too much energy by producing and shipping bottles across the world and undermines confidence in the safety and cleanliness of public water supplies, all while much of the world's population is without access to clean water.


But industry observers said such opposition is unlikely to drain U.S. sales of bottled water, which reached 2.6 billion cases in 2006, according to Beverage Digest. The industry newsletter estimated that U.S. consumers spent about $15 billion on bottled water last year. "Consumers have an affection for bottled water. It's not an issue of taste or health, it's about convenience," the newsletter's publisher, John Sicher, said. "Try walking up (New York City's) Third Avenue on a hot day and getting a glass of tap water."


Dave Kolpak, a portfolio manager at Victory Capital Management, said the environmental objections will have little impact on the bottom line for either Pepsi or Coke, though he admitted it could slow the market's growth rate.


"Pepsi and Coke do not make a lot of profit" on bottled water, said Kolpak, adding that people may talk about the issue, but will likely continue buying some bottled water. Victory Capital owns about 3 million shares of PepsiCo among its $62 billion under management.

[11Linda11]

I only buy spring water.

I do not feel safe drinking tap water. Too much crap in it. I just read
MUDs drinking water quality report and apparently that is supposed to
put our minds at ease about the water, but it had the opposite affect on me!

Ewwwww.

[IndianSpringsGuy]

Have you seen the test results on the bottled water? We have better than spring water coming from our tap. My exwife was poisoned by bottled water. I do not understand all the hype about bottled water. It is a convenience and for us it is probably less healthy. It is encased in plastic (how do you know what container chemicals you are putting into your body?) and the water contains heavens knows what! Our water is wel produced in a well and comes from a deep reservoir. The filter effect is more than you can get with the finest of filters. The only issue is the transportation of it. NOw bottled water is transported by what means? You will probably find that it is exactly the same but you may end up with surface water filtered by some artificial means.

[Wilson]

We have a filter built in to our refrigerator water & ice dispenser and the water tastes fine to me. But I totally get what you're saying... I'm not always keen to try tap water - some of it tastes absolutely wretched.

[eaglesprings]

well, you know, buying a bottled water is still better healthwise than buying a diet soda. (I say this as a huge diet soda addict!)

I think the problem is when people think bottled water is better or healthier than tap, and that isn't the case. If you are buying it for convenience or taste, I think that is okay, but don't buy it becauswe you think it is healthier. It's not.

[herself]

There is also a huge environmental impact with bottled water. It takes a great deal of fuel to haul that water all over the place. Water is heavy.

Tap water is best, filter it if you don't like the taste. You have no idea what you are getting or what chemicals are in bottled water. No one is watching.

[Wilson]

I don't understand why there isn't as equal an outcry over the packaging and transportation of other drinks? Gatorade type products? Cola?

I am more concerned about the environmental impact of *plastic*, not limited to bottled water.

[TXrose]

We bought a seperate spigot with a filter just for drinking water at home, but when I go to work I refuse to drink out of a water fountain so I take bottled water, but I buy HEB brand water, it tends to be cheaper!

[herself]

Cola drinks are not shipped that way. The syrup is shipped to local plants. The local plants mix the syrup with tap water and bottle it locally.

So you still have the plastic/tin container waste but transportation isn't as environmentally bad.

Not sure about Gatorade and those type drinks?

Edited to add: That's how they can sell soda so much cheaper than water now.

[Candleman]

I disagree herself. At, lets say Pepsi. An 18 wheeler leaves the plant empty and goes and gets corn syrup, another 18 wheeler leaves empty and goes to get cans. Another leaves empty and goes and gets containers. Another leaves and gets flavoring. Another leaves and gets palletts, and a few more loads of assorted supplies to make a can of Pepsi in SanAntonio. Many many many 18 wheelers leave there to distribute around the state.
Now lets make water. An 18 wheeler leaves to get bottles, returns with bottles and lids, turn on the faucet presto we have bottled water . We have the pallets, and containers allready. Many trucks leave to distribute from Houston to around the state. Water is cheaper to make, but costs more, hmmmm why is that? Because folks will pay over a dollar for a bottle of water.

Oh and another enviro fact. Broken water bottles that still have water in them can be disposed and reecycled of in a normal manner. Broken cans or bottles of Pepsi have to be hauled to a special processing place in Dallas. Now we have even more of those big bad enviro un friendly beasts polluting the world. All the while traveling those highways, that they pay out the nose in taxes, to drive on..

Just my .02
IMO the bottle water rhetoric is just a political thing that once again has no merit. Did Al Gore invent this new theory? LOL

[FamilyGal]

I have NEVER tasted a bottled water that tasted better than our tap water. I constantly hear people complaining about the taste of their water (not in my area though). So, I have never seen the need to buy bottled water.

Either I have been fortunate all of my life (grew up on well water) or I have no taste buds.

[Candleman]

Cut -N- Shoot well water can't beat it!!!!

[FamilyGal]

Cut -N- Shoot well water can't beat it!!!!

Dh agrees.

[IndianSpringsGuy]

IMO the bottle water rhetoric is just a political thing that once again has no merit. Did Al Gore invent this new theory? LOL

I do not know what you mean by this.

[mdonn76405]

Go to Iraq to a FOB, there are thousands of pallets of bottled water. Hot water!

[FamilyGal]

Hot water!


Nothing like a nice hot bottle of water after a day of fighting for your life. (Although I realize it is better than none.)

Edited to add: I would think that bottled water is much safer for the military. I would not want them relying on the safety of another country's water supply, nor worry about the enemy poisoning through it.

[herself]

candleman no one sends 18 wheelers empty anywhere it is too expensive.

It takes more energy to move something the more it weighs. So shipping empty containers cost next to nothing compared to ones that are full. That is why all the soda companies have local distributors to bottle and stock local stores. It'd cost too much money otherwise.

They don't do it this way to help the environment but because it is cheaper. In this case cheaper happens to be much better environmentally.

[Candleman]

candleman no one sends 18 wheelers empty anywhere it is too expensive.
One Question: How do you bring back corn syrup, if you go get it with a full tanker?

That is why all the soda companies have local distributors to bottle and stock local stores
Two different groups. Local distributors don't bottle. Bottlers don't stock stores. Also the "bottlers" have plants that can the beverage and plants that make 2 liters and maybe a differnt plant that makes 20oz, or 3ltrs, etc.

[herself]

You are confused candleman.

There is always something going somewhere to hook on the back of an 18 wheeler.

Meant local bottlers/distributors. In the soda industry they are pretty much the same thing.

[Candleman]

You are confused candleman.

There is always something going somewhere to hook on the back of an 18 wheeler.

Meant local bottlers/distributors. In the soda industry they are pretty much the same thing.

Herself, not to argue but your facts are not correct. Not even close. It takes a TANKER truck to pick up cornsyrup. The tanker must be empty. Just plain logic.

Conroe has a Coke and Pepsi distributor, Spring has Dr. pepper. NONE of the three make the product.

How many years have you spent in the beverage industry?

[herself]

I'll try to type slow here so you can follow....

Soda = flavored corn syrup, gas to make bubbles and water.

It is mostly water.

All of this is put into a container; usually lightweight plastic or metal now.

All of this must be transported from the manufacturer to the local store.

If you transport containers, high fructose corn syrup and gas to a local location, then add water that comes out of pipes at a local location then the water only has to be transported to a local store.

So the 7 pound a gallon water that makes up the largest part of the soda only travels a few miles instead of hundreds. The other lighter weight stuff all had to make the journey either way.

If you drink bottled water well that is run of a tap in one city and transported by truck usually to your local store. At 7 pounds a gallon you are using a fair bit of fuel here.

So you can drink bottled water and be a major contributor to sullying the air we breath, or you can drink soda which is less of an environmental impact on all of us. Of course dumping chemicals and high fructose corn syrup into your body is not the best and brightest thing to do but you are hurting yourself more than us with that choice.

Lastly of course you could consider the environment and your body and choose to drink neither.

That also has the benefit of not dumping all those plastic and metal and glass bottles everywhere.

Edited to add:
So you are stating that it has the same environmental impact to transport 100% of heavy product long distance as it does to transport less than 20% of a product long distance. This is the same as arguing it costs the same to take a Suberban SUV from Washington State to Houston, Texas as it does to take a Volkswagon from Washington State to Dallas and an SUV from Dallas to Houston.

If you can do that for the same fuel than there are some engineers in Detroit who'd love to talk to you.

[Murphy Stoffelis]

"Two different groups. Local distributors don't bottle. Bottlers don't stock stores. Also the "bottlers" have plants that can the beverage and plants that make 2 liters and maybe a differnt plant that makes 20oz, or 3ltrs, etc.

…Not even close. It takes a TANKER truck to pick up cornsyrup. The tanker must be empty. Just plain logic.

Conroe has a Coke and Pepsi distributor, Spring has Dr. pepper. NONE of the three make the product."


Mostly wrong on all counts...

The water of which we speak is the very same water upon which the product is based (with one additional process). The same plant that bottles your Coca Cola makes Dasani (Houston City water treated by reverse osmosis) water and bottles six different sizes and other flavours. The corn syrup is usually shipped long distance by rail not by truck (ADM); this same plant bottles Dr. Pepper by the way...

A distributor and a bottler are two different entities; the bottler is usually owned and controlled by the “named” brand.

"How many years have you spent in the beverage industry?"

A few, but does that really matter for the sake of this discussion?

[Candleman]

Mostly wrong on all counts...
Please show me where. I guess I just imagined I drove a tanker truck to pick up corn syrup. I must have imagined that the local Coke, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper, outfits were just distributors not bottlers or canners. Pepsi Conroe once was a canner but no longer. Since Sugarland shut down maybe some places have their corn syrup railed in, but that is not the case nationwide. I must have imagined all those trips I made with an empty trailer or tanker. Herself, you can type as slow as you need to, but it does not change the fact you are wrong. Murphy if you decide in the future to say something is mostly wrong try to be more correct!!!!!!!!!

[Murphy Stoffelis]

Please show me where. I guess I just imagined I drove a tanker truck to pick up corn syrup. I must have imagined that the local Coke, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper, outfits were just distributors not bottlers or canners. Pepsi Conroe once was a canner but no longer. Since Sugarland shut down maybe some places have their corn syrup railed in, but that is not the case nationwide. I must have imagined all those trips I made with an empty trailer or tanker. Herself, you can type as slow as you need to, but it does not change the fact you are wrong. Murphy if you decide in the future to say something is mostly wrong try to be more correct!!!!!!!!!

ADM ships corn syrup by rail form the Midwest. I don't care where you drove from (what loading rack) to pick up your load, you hauled it a short distance for the sake of this discussion. Let's take a look at ADM trucks (or any other carrier) on the road as compared to the rail cars on their way to Houston shall we?

The fact still being that Coke and Pepsi use CITY water as the base of their products including their branded water and it is NOT shipped from anywhere. This was the original subject of this conversation.

Most of the canning plants work part time as compared to the bottling plants, this has been the trend for the last five years and it will continue...

[herself]

The HFCS is loaded on to the now empty truck that brought what ever supplies are needed to the factory that makes the HFCS.

Do you think there is one guy driving an empty truck back and forth between two plants? The trucking companies would go broke.

A driver might pick up a load of corn at a farm, drop it at the HFCS plant, then take a load of HFCS to the bottling plant, then pick up a load of lumber or cars nearby and take that to somewhere. Then pick up a load of fertilizer and farm supplies to take to the farm town before picking up corn again.

And Murphy brings up a good point about the train. We don't use trains as much for cargo in NE and I hadn't thought about them.

[Candleman]

The HFCS is loaded on to the now empty truck that brought what ever supplies are needed to the factory that makes the HFCS.

Do you think there is one guy driving an empty truck back and forth between two plants? The trucking companies would go broke.

A driver might pick up a load of corn at a farm, drop it at the HFCS plant, then take a load of HFCS to the bottling plant, then pick up a load of lumber or cars nearby and take that to somewhere. Then pick up a load of fertilizer and farm supplies to take to the farm town before picking up corn again.

And Murphy brings up a good point about the train. We don't use trains as much for cargo in NE and I hadn't thought about them.

Herself I will type slow for you. Your points are baseless as well as factless. read the bold type and try and make sense of it. So the same truck that carries corn syrup also carries fertilizer? No wonder Coke tastes like SH**! good golly where do you come up with these things.

On a side note YOUR NOT IN NE anymore. I assume by your writings and the NE you mean New England. Or is it Nebraska?