With new video campaign.
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) has demanded SodaStream to cease airing its new video campaign, Shame or Glory, as it advocates using tap water to make sparkling water at home over the use of single-use plastic bottles.
SodaStream managing director, Mark Fenton said while the video was intended to make viewers laugh, it also served as a reminder to consumers to be conscious of the harmful effects of plastic bottle waste on the environment.
“Recycling is all well and good, but we know that most recyclable waste doesn’t end up being re-used. We are therefore strong advocates of pre-cycling, which encourages people to use less plastic in the first place. One way of doing this is by ditching things like plastic water bottles and embracing the fresh convenience of tap water instead,” Fenton said.
In the US alone, the recycling rate of plastic beverage bottles is only 37%, meaning that 52 billion plastic bottles end up in landfills, parks or oceans every year. According to a report by Greenpeace entitled, “Plastic Debris in the World’s Oceans,” more than 267 different species of seabirds, turtles, seals, sea lions, whales and fish have been documented as casualties of plastic ingestion or entanglement.
In the letter to SodaStream, the IBWA implies that bottled water is safer than tap water. However, US tap water is considered amongst the safest and cleanest on earth.