Jurnal Cakrawala Hukum
Vol. 17 No. 2 (2026): August 2026

Legal Liability of Bottled Drinking Water Companies for Circulating Reusable Gallons Beyond Their Lifespan

Nelvina Djaja (Universitas Pelita Harapan)
Audrianna Richella (Universitas Pelita Harapan)
Michelle Jesslyn (Universitas Pelita Harapan)
Jerry Shalmont (Universitas Pelita Harapan)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 Aug 2026

Abstract

This article analyses the legal liability of bottled drinking water (BDW) companies for circulating reusable gallon containers exceeding their technical lifespan, focusing on corporate-compliance failure and its consumer-protection implications. Normatively (das sollen), Law Number 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection guarantees consumers’ rights to comfort, security and safety; empirically (das sein), findings by the Indonesian Consumers Community (KKI) in late 2025 show that 57 per cent of reusable gallons circulating in Jabodetabek have exceeded their reasonable lifespan, exposing consumers to polycarbonate degradation and potential Bisphenol-A (BPA) migration. Using a normative juridical method with statutory and conceptual approaches, this study finds such practices constitute both a corporate-compliance failure and a violation of consumers’ rights under Articles 4, 7 and 8 of Law Number 8/1999. The absence of an explicit, quantitative lifespan standard is identified as a normative gap perpetuating information asymmetry between business actors and consumers. Compared with the European Union’s stricter BPA trajectory and neighbouring ASEAN jurisdictions, whose BPA bans remain confined to infant feeding bottles, Indonesia’s migration limit lags both international and regional consensus. The study recommends strengthening corporate compliance and internal control, together with regulatory reform establishing explicit lifespan and refill-cycle limits for reusable gallon containers.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jch

Publisher

Subject

Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice

Description

The Journal of Cakrawala Hukum, is a scientific periodical of the Faculty of Law, University of Merdeka Malang, which includes a variety of research in the field of law, or the analysis of actual case studies, or ideas related to the actual law. A Scientific periodical is intended as a means of ...