On Monday, May 20 Corporate Accountability International will take out a quarter-page ad in a special national parks supplement to USA Today, calling on the beverage giant to stop interfering in efforts by national parks to go bottled water free.
The provocative ad is the latest development in a national campaign to support parks in reducing bottled water waste and marketing over the objections of Coke and its surrogates.
Prior to phasing out bottled water last year, the Grand Canyon found plastic bottles accounted for 20 percent of its overall waste stream. They have since joined 13 other national parks in going bottled water free, replacing harmful plastic by selling reusable bottles (a lucrative revenue source) and building accessible hydration stations. Critically, in taking these measures, they are also supporting tap water systems, from which up to 40 percent of bottled water is, in fact, derived. And such a highly-visible promotion of the tap, as well as the critical need to reinvest in it, could not come at a more important time: public water systems will require an investment of more than $300 billion over the next 20 years, according to the EPA.
Posted by Paula Votendahl
05/19/13
