Where is the value of mineral water?

Zhang Zheng, general manager of a bottled water company in Tianjin, said that every 1 ton of bottled water generally consumes 1.3 ton of raw water according to the whole process including recycling. "Behind the waste of thousands of bottles of bottled water is a more amazing waste of water resources."

According to public data, China is one of the countries with the poorest per capita water resources in the world, and the per capita water resources are far below the world average. "I noticed the waste of bottled water at the 2009 conference and have been calling for it until now." Zhang said to him.

Liu Qingxuan, Secretary-General of Natural Mineral Water Professional Committee of China Mining Association, said that every mineral water source was determined after exploration by geologists and examination and approval by relevant departments, and the state also strictly protected mineral water sources. "So, behind every bottle of mineral water is a natural ecological base, and it is a pity to waste a drop."

Why not cherish such high-quality water resources?

In a hotel in Heping District, Tianjin, faced with the situation that four people have six bottles of "half a bottle of water" at a table, Wu Jingli, the person in charge of the enterprise that organized the meeting, said that the water for the meeting was provided free of charge, and the participants could ask for it from the hotel at any time, and they would not feel bad if it was wasted.

In recent years, the industry has begun to try to change large bottles into small ones. However, only one of the hotels visited by the reporter provided 330 ml small bottles of water. "Hotel guests have the need to boil water and make tea. Generally, there are 550 ml or even 1.5 liters of water in the room, and the convention hall has continued this habit. " Tian Lili said.

Consumers are also reluctant to buy small bottles of water. Take the price of a well-known brand bottled water e-commerce platform as an example. The price of 24 bottles of 550ml water is 27.9 yuan, while the price of 24 bottles of 330ml water is 26.5 yuan. "Spend more 1.4 yuan can buy nearly half of the water, and large bottles are definitely more popular." The customer service of this store said. The reporter searched the sales volume of the brand on the e-commerce platform and found that the large bottle of water is more than twice that of the small bottle.

Manufacturers have the same problem. "The cost is similar, the price is similar, and it is necessary to change the production line to produce small bottles of water. Some companies are unwilling to change. " Zhang Zheng said.

One of the reasons why many consumers waste "half a bottle of water" is that they are worried about being confused with other people's drinking water, which is unsanitary. In fact, as early as 20 14, the Requirements for Consumer Identification of Bottled Drinking Water was written into the national standard-"It is encouraged to set numbers, characters, graphics, symbols or coatings and areas for identification on the packaging of bottled drinking water with a capacity of less than 600 ml by coding, printing, connecting, pasting, spraying or other means".

However, due to cost considerations and only recommended terms, manufacturers are reluctant to add such labels. The reporter visited some supermarkets and convenience stores in Beijing, Tianjin and other places and found that bottled mineral water with "consumer identification mark" on its packaging was hard to find.

There is an urgent need for a "bottle washing action" of the whole society.

The "14th Five-Year Plan" proposes to implement the national water-saving action. Saving every drop of water requires the concerted efforts of the whole society and Qi Xin to create a strong atmosphere of "practicing economy and opposing waste".

Many interviewees reported that food waste in China is quite serious. After the "CD Action", the concept of saving food was deeply rooted in people's hearts. Facing the shortage of water resources, there is an urgent need for a "bottle cleaning action" of the whole society.

The main battlefield of "bottle washing operation" is in the hotel. According to the news released by China Convention and Hotel Alliance, there are10.2 million national convention and exhibition plans for 202/kloc-0. The organizers, contractors and participants of the conference will become an important force to promote the "bottle washing action".

A person in charge of a hotel in Tianjin said that the hotel has started to provide small bottles of water and is considering limiting one bottle in the morning and one bottle in the afternoon. In addition, conference organizers are encouraged to bring their own bottled water, forcing them to consider reducing waste from the perspective of economic cost.

Tian Lili believes that publicity signs such as "Clean Bottle Action" and "Drink Every Bottle of Water" can be set up at the venue to remind participants to save water.

Wang Huo said that you should get into the habit of taking away bottled water that you can't finish in a meeting. In addition, China people have the habit of drinking hot water, so they can advocate bringing their own cups to meetings. For the remaining bottled water, the hotel should not simply throw it away as garbage, but keep the remaining water for cleaning and other aspects. "Everyone should start with details and try to reduce waste," she said.

In addition, "I hope that relevant departments and industry associations will promote bottled water production enterprises to implement the' bottled drinking water consumer identification requirements' and promote marked bottled water through compulsory and encouraging measures.