In the ongoing bottled water vs. tap water war, the bottled water industry just lost another battle, this time in Australia, where the city of Bundanoon voted to ban the sales of bottled water. The New South Wales community may in fact be the first in the world to have instituted such a ban.
From the AP:
Residents of a rural Australian town hoping to protect the earth and their wallets have voted to ban the sale of bottled water, the first community in the country — and possibly the world — to take such a drastic step in the growing backlash against the industry.
Residents of Bundanoon cheered after their near-unanimous approval of the measure at a town meeting Wednesday. It was the second blow to Australia’s beverage industry in one day: Hours earlier, the New South Wales state premier banned all state departments and agencies from buying bottled water, calling it a waste of money and natural resources.
“I have never seen 350 Australians in the same room all agreeing to something,” said Jon Dee, who helped spearhead the “Bundy on Tap” campaign in Bundanoon, a town of 2,500 about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Sydney. “It’s time for people to realize they’re being conned by the bottled water industry.”
First popularized in the 1980s as a convenient, healthy alternative to sugary drinks, bottled water today is often criticized as an environmental menace, with bottles cluttering landfills and requiring large amounts of energy to produce and transport.
More here.
Related Posts
It’s one thing to be voluntary on stop using bottle water, but to ban all sales is nuts. Now when hit with a disaster were bottle water is needed what are they going to do? Does anyone think about the what if’s anymore?