Last week residents of Concord, Massachusetts passed a ban on the sale of bottled water, specifically single-serving bottles of 1 liter or less. Although a similar ban was agreed upon at a Concord Town Meeting back in 2010, the proposal was rejected by the state attorney general. This time around, the residents have revised their original proposal in accordance with suggestions from the attorney general’s office. If approval is given, then the ban will take effect January 1st 2013.
The town of Concord will be the first of any US city or town to enact such a ban on bottled water. The town does not stand alone, however; numerous college and universities have already committed to banning the sale of bottled water.
Yet the decision has not received widespread approval by any means. On the one hand, some argue that the ban targets bottled water, when the real threat is bottled soda. Others argue that local businesses will lose on sales from bottled water-lovers driving to other towns. Another line of argument is that people will simply buy larger bottles of water.
Perhaps the greatest critique is that the citizens of Concord have not been given an alternative. For the AquaGear team, the answer is obvious: reusable bottles (and on top of that, those with filters)! If the local businesses truly will lose sales from bottled water, then surely they may compensate by selling reusable bottles, the better alternative.
Regardless of the critiques, the majority of Concordian voters in 2010 and 2012 have spoken, and they have agreed to stand up against the sale of plastic water bottles. We applaud their decision as a step toward the recognition of plastic waste and a step toward reducing such waste.
Photo Credit: Associated Press