Is it Greenwashing? NW Company Introduces "Compostable Bottled Water"

Oct 15, 2009

A Mercer Island, Washington-based company, Earth Fix NW, is promoting a new product, "the first natural spring water in 100% compostable bottles to the Northwest market."

The company goes on to claim, "Our bottles are made from corn, not oil. They can be recycled - or they can go in your yard waste or compost collection bin along with other organics where they break down & go back to the earth leaving no inorganics behind."

While I applaud the company for finding an alternative to petroleum-based plastic bottles, I'm not sure I'm quite ready to agree that their product is "a naturally better choice." Selling water in bottles is still a waste of resources. Sure they are using corn-based products for their plastic, but I would rather see that corn used as food. And there is the issue of distribution - the product has to be shipped and stored...and this uses fuel for transportation and electricity for storage.

All for a product that is free to every citizen. Especially in the Northwest, we are blessed with tasty,clean water. Any concerns about contaminents from pipes or plumbing can be addressed with a filter.

So my view is this is a bit of greenwashing. Bottled water is still bottled water and I don't think there is a way you can consider it eco-friendly.