http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/10/attorney-general-biodegradable-bottle-lawsuit.html
Picture: This picture shows the bottles/advertisements of AquaMantra, one of the companies being sued by California.
Summary: Gen. Kamala D., a California attorney, filed a lawsuit against Balance and AquaMantra for "allegedly making false and misleading claims about their plastic water bottles' recycability and biodegradability." These two companies are both marketed by ENSPO Plastics and their labels claim that the bottles contain a microbial additive that helps the bottles break down in less than five years but the lawsuit state that the additive does not accelerate the process at all. On top of that, the microbial additive is considered to be a "destructive contaminant". The article also states that "The lawsuit is the first to enforce California's environmental marketing law", which was made in 2008. This law banned the use of the terms "biodegradable", "degradable", and "decomposable"on the labels of plastic containers because plastic takes thousands of years to breakdown naturally.
Opinion/Reflection: After watching the videos in class, I learned a lot about how the water bottle industry negatively impacts the public. They trick and mislead us into thinking that bottled water is more "safe" and "clean" than tap water, when in reality it is the other way around. This lawsuit is another example of how this industry is trying to trick us in order to make more profit. It's sad and scary to actually see how far these companies will go to make money off of innocent citizens. Like the video told us, the public trusts this industry and we are blindly buying bottles that are both harming our bodies and our planet.
Expansion:
I actually found an article talking about recyclable bottles.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2011/09/can-i-recycle-plantbottles.html
This article is about PlantBottles, engineered by Coca-Cola Co., which are bottles that are made with plant-based plastics. Now, both Odwalla and Dasani water bottles are made with plant-based polyethylene. These bottles are recyclable, but not compostable.
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteIN class we learned about how bad plastic water bottles are for our environment. And many companies are saying that their water bottles are "pure", "clean" and "Safe". I think that this proves that the companies say stuff about them that are not really true. Just like in the article it says that they added something to make it decompose in about 5 years, but it really doesn't.
Questions:
Who was the attorney that sued these companies?
Was it really necessary to sue the companies?
Is there a way to speed up the decomposition of the plastic water bottles?
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteLike Drew said we learned about this in class. This is a very bad thing that people are doing for money. Businesses will do anything to make money. They lie to everyone and make it seem like they are better when there not. People need to change this and make sure everyone knows that this is happening.
Questions:
1.) Should we put this on the news so that everyone would know about this?
2.) Would making the water bottles out of all recycled material be better and decompose better?
3.) Are these water bottles still being sold made out of the same things now or did they change them?
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteI think that it is horrible that a water bottle company would do this. I have learned in class that water bottle companies will talk about there water in ways that make us believe that their water is better than tap water. Nearly brain washing us is bad to begin woth, but when they hurt the environment in accordance with that, I believe its absolutely atrocious.
Questions:
1. Was Aquamantra owned by a successful company such as nestle?
2. How many of these water bottles were made already?
3. Is there a microbial additive that really can break down water bottles?
Opinion:
ReplyDeleteAfter watching Tapped in class, it has really opened my eyes about the dangers about bottled water. There really is no such thing as a safe bottle of water. They all contain chemicals and other bad things. It's a pretty good trick saying that the water is "clean or pure" but it's really the bottle you should be worried about. It makes me wonder what their argument is going to be to try to have their bottles sound consumer friendly if this gets taken to court.
Expansion:
This article shows how most bottled water contains contaminants and that it's sometimes worse than tap water.
http://www.valleyreporter.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2093&Itemid=61
More Questions:
1. What is the best alternative to bottled water?
2. What bottled water company has the cleanest water/bottle?