Summer is winding down, which makes it a good time to revisit a series of explorations of some of the summer fashion habits that helped define the era, including their symbolic ramifications, ecological implications, and political implications. Last stop in the Summer Furies series: the reusable water bottle.
There’s Shakespeare in the water: the reign of the large Stanley reusable bottle is under threat.
Back to school, which marks the end of the big summer break, comes with a bunch of accessories that now include a reusable water bottle. In 2023, students were snapping up the oversized (1.2 liter) Stanley container. Yoga and Pilates classes, The Buy Guide website, and social media played a central role in transforming the old, frankly rather ugly bottle into the empress of the trend. The hashtag #StanleyTumbler has been shared millions of times since then.
Last year alone, 10 million of them were sold at more than $60 each. When the Seattle-based company, founded in 1913, launched a version decorated with hearts for Valentine’s Day, customers lined up at night outside some stores to get their hands on one.
But the wheel of overconsumption turns: Stanley sees its position waver in turn. This time, popular favor goes to the Owala FreeSip. Smaller (710 ml) and less expensive ($34.99), the new trendy gadget also relies on its supposedly foolproof leak-proofness. Thousands of people have praised the object on Amazon. “I was about to buy a tumbler Stanley 40 oz three weeks ago, but I ended up buying a much better bottle of water,” begins a Quebec assessment, broadcast on May 8, which pretty much sums up the state of the conflict in the world of the crazy flask. The queen is dying, long live the queen!
Clean in the mouth
Capitalism being what it is, the habit of consuming and throwing away — including reusable products — is therefore inserted up to this point. On social networks, under the hashtag #WaterTok, we can see collections each containing dozens, even hundreds, of Stanley or other brands’ water bottles.
“We need to get back to the basic function of the object, which is to hydrate us, and move away from the fad,” says Amélie Côté, a waste reduction analyst at the environmental organization Équiterre. “Using a reusable water bottle is highly recommended, but we obviously don’t want to multiply the quantity of personal bottles. We need to choose one made with sustainable materials and keep it for a long time. Similarly, we shouldn’t buy reusable bags in large quantities.”
According to Statistics Canada, in 2021, 9 out of 10 Canadian households had at least one member with a refillable bottle. According to a 2010 study by the firm Quantis, the environmental impact of an aluminum bottle (the equivalent of 1.5 kg of carbon dioxide) is less than that of disposable bottles after about ten reuses.
Mme Côté notes that the reusable bottle has other undeniable advantages over the infamous single-use container. This one has only flaws, or almost.
First, the disposable bottle poses health threats. A recent Columbia University study estimates that its water can contain 100,000 to 360,000 microplastic particles per liter.
Then, the container has enormous repercussions on the environment. In Quebec alone, approximately 9,000 tons of bottles are not recycled each year, the equivalent of 600 per minute. On a global scale, the figures are frightening. It also takes raw materials to manufacture these nuisances, factories to fill them, trucks to transport them and refrigerators to cool them.
In addition, in Canada, a quarter of the bottles sold contain tap water. We repeat: not exotic spring water like Evian or Perrier, just tap water — and, by the way, the water available in Montreal is often described as one of the best in the world.
The fact that the bottling industry pays very low royalties, despite recent price increases, to benefit from this public good adds a final negative element to this muddy system.
Reduce, prohibit
At least there is progress on the reuse side. Starting next March, all beverage containers will be deposit-returnable in Quebec, including water bottles, which should substantially increase their recycling rate.
Along with waste reduction and recycling, the reuse of objects forms one of the three pillars — the three Rs — of sustainable and responsible consumption. Mme Côté also suggests that we maximize this third principle by buying our reusable bottle in thrift stores, which have them in large quantities — another proof of the overconsumption of these beautiful and good objects.
The reintroduction of functional fountains in parks and public squares is also an interesting avenue. Festivals now offer free water bottle filling services. The 2018-2030 Quebec Water Strategy also focuses on the opening of fountains to publicly distribute drinking water.
Action has been taken in some places. The University of Sherbrooke has not sold bottled water on its campus since 2011. The City of Prévost, in the Laurentians, requires a contribution of 10 cents per bottle of non-carbonated water of less than 750 ml sold on its territory in order to support a recycling fund. Another, more radical option would be to simply ban the sale of disposable water bottles, as was the case with the distribution of single-use plastic bags.
Quebec conducted a consultation last year to implement its Strategy for the Reduction and Responsible Management of Plastics. The measures envisaged by 2028 aim to ban certain packaging and “single-use and short-lived” plastics as well as a shift towards a model of circulation of accepted plastics. A ban on the sickly bottle is not on the agenda.
“Reducing or even banning plastic water bottles is good, but there are many other elements to consider,” concludes M.me Côté. It is very important to have a systemic vision to transform all our consumption habits.