How about a little happy story on a Sunday night?
Most of us are aware of the horrible waste involved with commercially bottled water. Bottles clog up landfills and are an eyesore – and a hazard to wildlife when left behind in nature. And then there is the incredible waste of energy when trucking it around – often thousands of miles from where they were originally bottled.
Well, the inhabitants of the small Australian town of Bundanoon have taken the consequence of this:
They had a referendum back in July.
The Australian town of Bundanoon Saturday followed through with its threat to ban bottled water — a first in the nation, officials said.
The ban means local stores will sell only refillable water bottles, including a bottle that carries the label “Bundy on Tap,” The Sydney Morning Herald reported Saturday.
Bundanoon has installed four free filtered public drinking stations in the town with a fifth filtered-water station at the local primary school.
Bundanoon residents voted 355 to 1 in July to ban the sale of bottled water because it is an environmental and economic menace, said Jon Dee, an organizer of the ban.
And the outcome is inspiring others to follow:
THE State Government has followed the lead of the Southern Highlands village of Bundanoon, and moved to ban commercially bottled water in all government departments and agencies.
The Premier, Nathan Rees, said he was seeking “urgent advice” on ways to reduce bottled water consumption across the state, including a public campaign highlighting the economic and environmental costs of the bottled water market.
[…]
The bottled water industry, which sent representatives to Bundanoon last night to monitor the outcome, was fighting a rearguard action yesterday to protect the trade. Australians spent about $500 million on bottled water in 2008, a 10 per cent increase on 2007.
The ban has now taken effect.
Bundanoon in ‘world-first’ ban on bottled water
Shopkeepers ceremoniously removed the last bottles of water from their shelves and replaced them with reusable bottles that can be filled from fountains inside the town’s shops or at water stations in the street.
“Every bottle today was taken off shelf and out of the fridges so you can only now buy refillable bottles in shops in Bundanoon,” Dee said.
The tiny town, two hours south of Sydney, voted in July to ban bottled water after a drinks company moved to tap into a local aquifer for its bottled water business.
“In the process of the campaign against that the local people became educated about the environmental impact of bottled water,” said Dee.
Way to go! Who’s next?