Exactly one year ago today the City of Toronto became the largest city in the world to pass a comprehensive ban on bottled water, setting off a wave of backlash against bottled water that continues today. Since Toronto's decision many news articles have been written, municipal resolutions passed, university clubs formed and stainless steel bottles sold. To put it bluntly, the last 12 months have not been kind to the big three bottled water manufacturers Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, whose bottled water sales are down while the number of bans continues to increase. Finally, after years of steady bottled water growth, the past year has demonstrated strong public support for the reemergence of the tap.

So where exactly does bottled water stand in Canada right now?

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an huge floating patch of plastic and other human-made marine debris that spans several million square kilometers of the North Pacific. It is estimated to be somewhat larger than the U.S. state of Texas.

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