Making Europe go from bottles to the tap: Political and societal attempts to induce behavioral change

Tosun, Jale; Scherer, Ulrike; Schaub, Simon; Horn, Harald

doi:10.1002/wat2.1435

Cited by 23 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 97 publications

(187 reference statements)

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“…Indeed, most of respondents consider nasty or unsafe water supplied by public network and this resulted in a lower consumption of tap water and higher consumption of PET-bottled water. This relation between bad quality perception and consumption of tap water has been confirmed too by Tosun et al [49], in Germany. In addition, the poor quality of groundwater available in the Salento peninsula, which feeds the local public aqueduct [37], could condition the perception of tap water safety and, consequently, the consumers' preference for mineral bottled water.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

“…Other Italian surveys reported an annual per capita consumption of bottled water of 206 L/year in 2015 [48] and 221 L/year in 2018 with a percentage of PET bottled water of 82% [8]. Finally, Tosun et al [49], reviewing data from several studies, stated that Italy held the first place in Europe for bottled water consumption and the lower position for tap water consumption.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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PET-Bottled Water Consumption in View of a Circular Economy: The Case Study of Salento (South Italy)

et al. 2020

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Polyethylenterephtalate (PET) is the preferred packaging material in the bottled water industry and represents the main cause of waste production. This work investigated the drinking water consumption habits, with particular reference to PET-bottled water, of people living in the province of Lecce (Apulia Region, Southern Italy) by age and geographical groups. Their perception about the quality of tap water was also explored. The survey was performed by the administration of a questionnaire to 4137 citizens. Bottled mineral water was consumed by about the 90.4% of respondents with an average consumption of 387.7 L/year per capita (375.2 L/year in PET-bottles, 12.5 L/year in glass bottles). Public supply system was used by the 61.5% of respondents with an average consumption of 169.4 L/year per capita. The consumption of tap water was negatively related to the perception of its bad quality and the residence in a big city (Lecce); while it was positively associated with the age group ≤16 years old. Effective communications strategies must be developed in order to promote the consumption of tap water and implement good practice of circular economy.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

PET-Bottled Water Consumption in View of a Circular Economy: The Case Study of Salento (South Italy)

et al. 2020

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“…The association was set up in London in 1859 to provide free drinking water, and the organisation is still active, though under the name Drinking Fountain Association (The Drinking Fountain Association 2017 ). Public water fountains and the availability of free drinking water have somewhat come back to the centre of attention in recent years in the context of the discussion about plastic bottles and their impact on the environment (Hawkins 2017 ; Heathcote 2018 ; Tosun et al 2020 ). For example, the current mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, published plans for a new drinking water fountain network in 2017 (BBC News 2017 ).…”

Section: Drought Walk Londonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Engagement with Drought and Water Scarcity Research

Grecksch

2021

Drought and Water Scarcity in the UK

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This chapter makes a contribution to the discussion on public engagement with research. Hence, the focus is less on the research topic as such but more on the communication and dissemination of drought and water scarcity related research. This chapter presents public engagement with research activities: two water-related walks. First, a waterways walk through Birmingham, UK, that stopped at various places and discussed drought and water scarcity issues with participants. Second, a drought walk through St James’s Park in London used to disseminate a primer document and highlight issues of public water supply and its function in public spaces. This chapter presents these activities to frame a necessary discussion about the need for better communication of drought and water scarcity in the UK against the background that the issue is often neglected in public debates about water. At the same time water resources managers at the UK’s water companies report difficulties in communicating the issue despite having supporting data from monitoring and modelling. Hence, a public drought and water scarcity discussion is overdue and, as the examples show, can come in various shapes.

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“…The majority of statements explained that pharmaceutical residues do not pose a risk to human health (6.5% compared to 3.6%). These statements were mostly related to discussions on drinking water quality, which, in fact, can be rated as very good to excellent due to Germany's very high standards for drinking water protection [94].…”

Section: Policy Positions Taken In the Debate And Degree Of Disputementioning

confidence: 99%

Transition towards sustainable pharmacy? The influence of public debates on policy responses to pharmaceutical contaminants in water

Schaub

Braunbeck

2020

Environ Sci Eur

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Background Despite clear-cut scientific evidence for pharmaceutical contaminants causing adverse effects in aquatic life, the regulatory response in Germany has been weak. In principle, there are different policy approaches to address pharmaceutical contaminants: German water protection policies mostly follows a control approach, complemented by end-of-pipe solutions in some German states. The approach leaves the activities of key target groups, such as the pharmaceutical industry, largely unaffected. A stakeholder consultation initiated in 2016 by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment did not lead to significant changes in regulation. Empirical research in political science has shown that analysing the public debate can be helpful in explaining policy responses and, in particular, policy change. This study follows this approach and investigates whether the German policy response to pharmaceutical contaminants can be explained by characteristics of the public debate on the issue. Results A discourse network analysis based on newspaper reporting in Germany was conducted between 2013 and 2017 to investigate the public debate on pharmaceutical contaminants. German newspapers actually paid considerable attention to the issue. In fact, the debate was not controversial, and participating organisations expressed similar views with regard to the risk of the contaminants, the causes of contamination and the approaches to be taken to mitigate the release of contaminants to the environment. The main narrative in the debate was supportive to the current policy approach applied in Germany. There were no concerted efforts by organisations such as environmental organisations or ecological parties to mobilise for an alternative policy approach. Conclusions The low level of polarisation in the policy subsystem and the absence of a strong narrative mobilising a major policy change may explain the persistence of the policy approach to pharmaceutical contaminants applied in Germany. A significant change to the current approach in the near future seems unlikely. Nevertheless, literature in political science shows that a polarised public debate and a strong pro-change actor coalition often preceded policy change. Actors with an interest in stricter regulation might want to reconsider their mobilisation strategies.

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Making Europe go from bottles to the tap: Political and societal attempts to induce behavioral change

Cited by 23 publications

References 97 publications

PET-Bottled Water Consumption in View of a Circular Economy: The Case Study of Salento (South Italy)

PET-Bottled Water Consumption in View of a Circular Economy: The Case Study of Salento (South Italy)

Public Engagement with Drought and Water Scarcity Research

Transition towards sustainable pharmacy? The influence of public debates on policy responses to pharmaceutical contaminants in water

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