War Impact: Bubble-top water cans costlier, and reused

Chennai: The war in West Asia has significantly impacted the packaged drinking water industry. Retail price of bubble tops is up by 5 per refill, and there are concern about overuse of refill cans. Due to the spike in demand during summer, and dwindling can supply, the available cans are being re-used rampantly.Due to the war, prices of raw material like low-density polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, used in manufacturing plastic water cans, sleeves and caps, have increased by 40-60%. Food safety and standards authority of India officials say at least 85% of transparency is needed in bubble tops. But in most cans, the water level is hardly visible, indicating risks of contamination."A bubble top can be reused to up to 25 times, beyond which they must be scrapped," said, A Shakespeare, chairman, Greater Tamil Nadu packaged drinking water manufacturers association. "People must be vigilant to check the manufacturing date, ISI number, FSSAI license. Avoid purchasing cans filled with water from tankers and other sources," he said. Hussain A, who runs a PVC pipe business, saw his family's monthly water budget increasing by 60 in the last 10 days. He says, "At times, cans look worn out or scratched. Regulations must be enforced stringently." A Royapettah resident, S Sunil, said the sale of poor quality or unbranded water in bubble tops is a common complaint, which has emerged as a health hazard. "Tea shops and eateries mostly rely on these. When kept under the sun, harmful chemicals may leach into the water too," he said, adding that hefty fines must be levied from defaulters.A distributor in KK Nagar, S Muthu, said he supplies 150 cans to retailers and 50 cans to households a day. Out of these, only about 70 cans are new, he says. He added that with higher input costs, it may become challenging to source new cans in the coming weeks. Designated officer, K Tamil Selvan, said they have launched drives in the coming weeks to check quality and licenses of distributors in the city. "We have assigned two officers per area. We will ensure that enforcement is strict amid increased demand this summer," he said. E Saravanan, general secretary of Greater Tamil Nadu packaged drinking water association, said the govt must take steps to ensure availability of oil to help production of raw materials and reduce the burden on consumers. "Many customers have opted for RO water treatment systems, fearing further increase in prices in water," he said.