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A major bottled-water company is voluntarily introducing a 25-cent deposit on its half-litre-sized plastic containers in Ontario, British Columbia and the Maritime provinces, responding to criticism that too many of the throwaway bottles aren't being recycled and are ending up as litter.

The deposit will apply on bottles that the company, Canadian Springs, delivers directly to homes and offices. But the firm is also trying to interest retailers in taking back the containers, which are the size most often bought over the counter at stores and frequently sold cheaply in cases as loss leaders at supermarkets.

The deposit will amount to a hefty $6 on a package of 24 and is a sign of the intense controversy swirling around bottled water, which, according to environmentalists and others, undermines municipal water systems, wastes energy during transportation and adds needless packaging to city garbage.

Earlier this year, London and Waterloo Region in Ontario decided to ban the bottles at city functions.

The introduction of a deposit system may also signify a division in the bottling industry on how to respond to critics. Until now, water bottlers and soft-drink makers have attacked deposit-return systems as impractical, preferring to support municipal blue-box recycling programs. That's one reason Canada has such a bewildering array of levies on beverage containers, depending on the province and type of drink.

Canadian Springs, a privately owned Canadian company that is the largest supplier of office-cooler-type jugs delivered to homes and businesses, is the first big maker of non-alcoholic beverages to break ranks with the industry's recycling position.

Company president Richard Stephens said deposit systems are better because they can lead to recycling rates of nearly 100 per cent, compared with only 25 per cent to 75 per cent for blue-box systems. In a statement, he lambasted the rest of the industry for "corporate green washing" by supporting only recycling to deal with litter problems.

"We cannot be hypocritical as a company. We can't sit there and profess to be a green company when we don't really make an effort to be green," he said in an interview.

Mr. Stephens said the company may lose some customers who balk at the deposit, but it is trying to be "a little bit more genuine" in its environmental commitments. All the plastic containers collected will be sent to recycling.

The company's action isn't assuaging some critics.

"I refuse to drink bottled water and I never will again. I've sworn off the stuff," said Gord Perks, a Toronto city councillor who says that even with a deposit, the drink isn't environmentally friendly because it takes too much energy to make and transport. The company is attempting "to green wash a product that they've only ever been able to sell to us through brainwashing."

There was also harsh reaction from another bottler, which dismissed the move from Canadian Springs as a gimmick. "I'd call it marketing sleight of hand more than a meaningful environmental initiative," said John Challinor, spokesman for Nestlé Waters Canada.

Nestlé doesn't have any voluntary deposit systems but, like Canadian Springs, pays fees to defray part of the cost of municipal recycling programs. Mr. Challinor said Nestlé believes the extensive curbside recycling system is the most cost-effective way to handle used bottles. He called for more anti-litter campaigns and recycling bins in public spaces to reduce the garbage problem from used containers.