\u201cWater is at the very core of our sustainable efforts to meet the needs of future generations,\u201d BlueTriton declares on its website<\/a>, spelling out its promise for sustainable stewardship over a picture of pine trees, pristine water, and clouds. The company\u2019s Instagram account is similarly nature-oriented and wholesome, filled with green-tinged images of people hiking<\/a> and enhancing the native trout population<\/a>.<\/p>\n The claims were a bridge too far for the environmental group Earth Island Institute, which sued<\/a> BlueTriton in August, arguing that its misleading sustainability claims violate a local Washington, D.C., law known as the Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which is designed to prevent \u201cdeceptive trade practices.\u201d In response, the company defended its green self-promotion by explaining that everyone should realize that the claims are meaningless nonsense.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of the statements at issue here constitute non-actionable puffery,\u201d BlueTriton\u2019s attorneys wrote in a motion to dismiss<\/a> the case submitted to a D.C. court in March. \u201cBlueTriton\u2019s representation of itself as \u2018a guardian of sustainable resources\u2019 and \u2018a company who, at its core, cares about water\u2019 is vague and hyperbolic,\u201d the attorneys continued. \u201cBecause these statements are \u2018couched in aspirational terms,\u2019 they cannot serve as the basis for Plaintiff\u2019s CPPA claim.\u201d<\/p>\n When BlueTriton picked a new logo in April 2021, it explained its choice on Instagram<\/a> as a nod to its commitment to nature and environmentalism. \u201cTriton is a god of the sea in classical Greek mythology,\u201d the company wrote. \u201cCombined with the color blue, representing water, the new name and logo reflect our role as a guardian of sustainable resources and a provider of fresh water.\u201d<\/p>\n Several of its brands go even further, suggesting that they are helping address the plastic problem because the bottles can in principle be recycled. BlueTriton brands Poland Spring, Ozarka, and Zephyrhills Water advertise that \u201cWe use #1PET plastic, which can be used over and over again!\u201d Pure Life water boasts that all its bottles are \u201c100% recyclable \u2026 and can be used for new bottles and all sorts of new, reusable things.\u201d Deer Park claims that its recyclable bottles help \u201ckeep plastic out of landfills\u201d and that the company \u201ccare[s] about you & our planet.\u201d<\/p>\n In truth, there is overwhelming evidence<\/a> that recycling cannot solve the plastic problem. Since the 1950s, only 9 percent of plastic produced has been recycled, while the vast majority of plastic waste is either landfilled or incinerated. Six times<\/a> more plastic waste is burned than recycled in the United States. Packaging, including the PET bottles that BlueTriton brands describe as recyclable, account for more than half the plastic that winds up in landfills.<\/p>\n\n As the complaint notes, plastic pollution is now so widespread that the average person is drinking more than 1,700 tiny bits of plastic in a week\u2019s worth of drinking water \u2014 the equivalent of an entire credit card. Microplastics are found in 94.4 percent of tap water samples in the U.S. and\u00a0may be an even bigger problem in bottled water, despite bottled water companies marketing their product as pollution-free. One BlueTriton brand, Pure Life, had twice the level of plastic fibers as tap water.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, as BlueTriton touts itself as a solution to America\u2019s water problems, it has been caught extracting water from the national forest<\/a> without authorization. The practice of tapping into natural water supplies has been shown to drain aquifers and rivers, taking water from plants and animals as well as public drinking water reserves. Graphic: Beyond Plastic<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n With rising public awareness of the role played by bottled water companies in the plastic pollution crisis, companies have publicly pledged to do better. In 2008, Nestl\u00e9 Waters North America committed to recycling 60 percent of PET bottles by 2018. The company proudly announced<\/a> its intentions in its first corporate citizenship report (which is no longer available online). But when the deadline came and its recycling rate was still less than half of its goal \u2014 just 28.9 percent, according to a 2020 report<\/a> by the Changing Markets Foundation \u2014 the company just issued another pledge<\/a>\u00a0rather than dwelling on its failure to meet the earlier one.<\/p>\nDirty Business<\/h2>\n
\n![\"corporate-promise-recycle-material-beyond-plastics1\"](\"https:\/\/prod01-cdn06.cdn.firstlook.org\/wp-uploads\/sites\/1\/2022\/04\/corporate-promise-recycle-material-beyond-plastics1-1024x698.jpg\")
\n\nEmpty Promises<\/h2>\n