Bottled water industry supports recycling legislation

International Bottled Water Association | News Release | April 8, 2022

Bottled water industry supports recycling legislation

Alexandria, VA – The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) supports both the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act (RIAA) and the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act (RCAA), as these key pieces of legislation are critical to improving recycling efforts nationwide.

Yesterday (April 7, 2022), the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works reported both bills to the full Senate for consideration.

“The Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act will create a pilot program to help fund recycling programs in underserved areas,” says IBWA President and CEO Joe Doss. “We believe this bill will help boost recycling rates around the country and divert items from landfills.”

“Recycled plastic is in high demand, as bottled water companies continue to reduce their environmental footprint by using more recycled plastic in their product containers.”

“We believe that increasing consumer access to recycling programs is an essential part of closing the loop of the recycling process. And it helps to ensure that post-consumer recyclable materials are kept out of landfills and are instead reused again and again by industry to create products consumers want.”

The bottled water industry is a major user of post-consumer resins for its packaging and has been for many years. But, explains Doss, food-quality post-consumer recycled content is a highly sought-after commodity and supplies are often very limited.

The bottled water industry is pleased to see action being taken at the federal level, as critical data is needed to help gain a complete understanding of what programs are currently successful and where improvements may be needed before any major changes to recycling systems are undertaken.

“States and localities have spent years building recycling systems to meet consumer’s needs. It is important to learn what we can from their experience to gain a more complete understanding of where improvements can be made in current systems. These improvements, like providing more access to material recovery facilities, can lead to greater efficiencies in current recycling infrastructure,” says Doss.

“The data collected via the RCAA will provide useful information on successful systems across the country. That data can be used to provide examples of what types of programming are most successful and will help advise policymakers as they seek to improve our nation’s recycling infrastructure.”

More information about bottled water can be found at www.bottledwater.org.

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Media Contact:
Jill Culora
703.647.4609
[email protected]

The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is the authoritative source of information about all types of bottled waters, including spring, mineral, purified, artesian, and sparkling. Founded in 1958, IBWA’s membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers. IBWA is committed to working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water as a packaged food product, to set comprehensive and stringent standards for safe, high-quality bottled water products.

In addition to FDA regulations, IBWA member bottlers must adhere to the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice, which mandates additional standards and practices that in some cases are more stringent than federal and state regulations. A key feature of the IBWA Bottled Water Code of Practice is a mandatory annual plant inspection by an independent, third-party organization.