The Canadian Federation of Students, the Sierra Youth Coalition and the Polaris Institute are asking people to avoid the bottle and turn on the tap. They have declared March 11 Canada's first Bottled Water Free Day in an effort to get more Canadian institutions and school boards to ban water bottles. Currently, there are over 70 municipalities, six school boards and three campuses that have successfully phased out the provision and sale of bottled water in their sectors. The pledge asks people to drink only tap water where available.

The first ban of water bottles was in Charlottetown in April 2007, and there have been many bans since.

Toronto, where consumers toss an estimated 100 million plastic bottles a year, is also considering a ban.

"We capture about 65 per cent of [the tossed bottles] in our recycling," said Toronto city Coun. Shelley Carroll. "The other 35 per cent is being lost in litter containers or in the garbage stream, and we can't pull them all out so a lot of bottles still end up in the landfill."
Industry observers say advertising by bottled water companies gives consumers the impression their product is safer and healthier than tap water. Municipal water, however, is more stringently tested.

Read more: Water bottles in-depth

Bottled Water Free Day official website

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