Canadian province bans bottled water

The Canadian province of Manitoba on Wednesday banned water bottles from all of its offices to encourage drinking of tap water, winning praise from ecologists.

"We believe by taking this step we are leading by example and encouraging Manitobans to move away from using single-use bottled water," Manitoba Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie said in a statement.

The new policy bans the use of provincial funds to buy single-use bottled water in plastic containers with less than one litre of water when tap water that is safe for drinking is reasonably accessible.

Ecologists immediately praised the move, saying that the production, transport and recycling of single-use water bottles wastes energy and produces unnecessary carbon emissions.

Manitoba is the second Canadian province to enact a water bottle ban, after Nova Scotia.