The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(May 2024) |
Bottled water bans have been proposed and enacted in several municipalities and campuses everywhere over such concerns as resource wastage, transportation emissions, plastic litter, and damage to affected aquifers.
The University of Leeds held a referendum on the sales of bottled water in 2008, becoming the first university in the United Kingdom to ban bottled still water from all their bars, cafes and shops. [1] The small town of Bundanoon, New South Wales (Australia) enacted such a ban in 2009 and was the first town to do so anywhere. [2] In 2009, Washington University in St. Louis became the first university in the United States to ban the sale of plastic, single-use water bottles. [3] In 2013 The University of Vermont (UVM) in Burlington became the first public college in the U.S. to enact such a ban. As of late 2016, 82 high schools, colleges and universities across the world have implemented bottled water bans on their campuses. [4] Municipalities have also banned bottled water from their facilities, such as the city of San Francisco, California. [5]
The use of plastics continues to rise due to convenience and affordability, but many are unaware of the environmental and health impacts they are leaving behind. [6]
Plastics are made from fossil fuels. The use of these leaves a large ecological footprint on the environment, not to mention that these plastics do not break down easily, if at all. [7] According to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, a discarded plastic bottle takes 450 years to decompose. [8]
The overuse of plastics results in a dumping of plastics into the oceans at a rate of 8 million tons per year. [9] The piling up of plastics around the world continues to build up and now we are facing issues like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Scientists now have estimated that at the rate will continue to dump plastics into our oceans, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans. [10]
Additional to environmental impacts, plastics have been claimed to leave behind chemicals detrimental to human health such as the neurotoxin Bisphenol A (also known as BPA). [11] Other chemicals in plastics have even been linked to cancer. [12] These claims, however, are generally urban legends or vast exaggerations. [13] [14] [15]
For these reasons some governments are interested in banning the use of single-use plastic water bottles in their regions to lower these impacts on the environment and promote sustainability within their boundaries.
In 2009, the New South Wales town of Bundanoon voted to become the first town in the world to outlaw bottled water. [16] Its citizens voluntarily chose to ban bottled water in response to a bottling company's desire to sell water from the town's local aquifer, [17] [18] prohibiting the selling or dispensing of bottled water within the town precinct. [19]
Bundanoon's twelve stores and cafe's as well as events in the town, have removed bottled water from their stock. The town now offers public drinking fountains and filtered water dispensers where people can fill up reusable water bottles and canteens. The reusable empty bottles are sold in place of full bottles in the local stores. The town's ban received media attention from major news outlets. [18] [20]
The decision to ban bottled water was partly due to opposition to a proposed water extraction plant, and partly to concern related to the environmental and health impacts. [18]
Many Canadian municipalities have passed bans on municipal properties including: Ajax; Burlington, [21] Cornwall, London, Newmarket, Niagara Falls, Oakville, Oshawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Windsor, Waterloo, Nelson, Victoria, Vancouver. These were followed in December 2008, by Toronto, Canada's most populous city. The Toronto City Council approved a water bottle ban to take effect in January 2012. The ban, which affects most of Toronto's parks and park facilities, prohibits the sale and distribution of water bottles in all Civic Centres, City facilities. and parks. [22]
In June 2007, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom released an executive directive to phase out the usage of water bottles in the city. [23] The directive for San Francisco had strict consequences. If a public event that has more than 100 people is caught distributing water bottles, the event sponsors can pay a fine of up to $500. [24] Many city offices who supported the ban complied quickly with the phase out of water bottles except for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who spent about $4,387 on water bottles for three years after the ban was put into effect. [25] San Francisco is one of the largest cities in the country to initiate such a ban yet the city did not offer the people a public policy to allow for access to free water. [26] On March 11, 2014, The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed Ordinance 28-14 [27] which amends its Enivroment Code to execute a ban on the sale of plastic water bottles that contain less than 21 ounces through the City of San Francisco. [28] With only a 23% recycle rate of the 50 billion plastic bottles used in the U.S., it is no surprise that this ban of plastic bottles was widely accepted by city officials of San Francisco and its citizens. [29]
To maintain easy access to water for its citizens, the City of San Francisco plans on implementing a Drink Tap Program which will install outdoor water bottle refilling stations to ensure the public stays hydrated. Many of these stations will be dispersed throughout the city. [30]
In 2011, New Haven passed a municipal spending ban including bulk bottled water dispensers. [31]
At the Town Meeting of May, 2015, Brookline, Massachusetts passed a by-law prohibiting the spending of Town funds on water in single-use plastic bottles in offices. It will be considering further restrictions based on San Francisco's ordinance. The Town also instituted a requirement that restaurants serve tap water on request including take-out orders. [32]
Legislation banning the sale of single-serving plastic water bottles passed in Concord, Massachusetts on April 26, 2012, making Concord the first town in the nation to ban single-serving plastic bottles. The passage was largely due to the efforts of 84-year-old Jean Hill. [33] The ban took effect on January 1, 2013. Two previous attempts to ban bottled water in the town had failed. [34]
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, which have the number 1 and/or PETE with the recycling symbol on the bottle are no longer allowed to be sold if they are less than or equal to 1 liter (34 ounces) and contain water which is non-sparkling and non-flavored. The sale of water in bottles made of other types of plastic is allowed. Bottles of flavored water, regardless of size, may be sold. The sale of cases of small (<1 liter) bottles of water is prohibited. Bottled water less than or equal to 1 liter in volume may not be sold in vending machines. Bottled water less than or equal to 1 liter in volume may not be sold at civic events including but not limited to sports events, road races, festivals, theater performances and catered events. Water may be offered for free to patrons in any form. [35]
In January 2013 the Health Division of the Town Manager's Office of the Town of Concord began inspections of retail stores, restaurants, and other venues that sell bottled beverages. The Health Division is tasked with ensuring compliance with the bylaw against bottled water sales under 1 liter. If bottled water less than 1 liter is being sold, a written warning is issued. Within one week a re-inspection will occur; if this is failed, a $25 fine is issued as a non-criminal citation. On the third and subsequent inspections, a non-criminal citation with a fine of $50 is issued if bottled water continues to be sold in violation of the bylaw. [35]
There is controversy over this act. The International Bottled Water Association issued a press release stating that: "This ban deprives residents of the option to choose their choice of beverage and visitors, who come to this birthplace of American independence, a basic freedom gifted to them by the actions in this town more than 200 years ago. It will also deprive the town of needed tax revenue and harm local businesses that rely on bottled water sales." [36] The IBWA reinforced this statement in response to the proposed ban on bottled water in the city of San Francisco. It added that restricting access to bottled water will lead consumers to opt for unhealthier bottled options that may involve, "more packaging, more additives (e.g., sugar, caffeine), and greater environmental impacts than bottled water." [37]
Some businesses opposed the ban, saying it restricts freedom of choice and will simply drive bottled water sales out of town. [38]
Other towns near Concord have explored similar bans. Some residents of the Town of Arlington brought one to its Spring Town Meeting of 2013, but it was defeated in a voice vote. However, it was reintroduced in 2022 and it passed and the town became the largest municipality in the state to have a retail bottled water ban. [39]
A high-school student proposed a ban by-law at the Fall 2014 Town Meeting in Framingham, where it was defeated by a vote of 60 to 40. [40] Among those opposing the ban in both communities was the supermarket chain Stop & Shop. [41] Framingham also has a Poland Spring bottling plant, and its owner Nestlé Waters North America opposed the ban as well. [40]
Two towns that border Concord have passed bottled water bans similar to Concord's by-law: Sudbury on May 2, 2017; and Lincoln in March, 2018. Great Barrington in Berkshire county passed one in May, 2018. Some citizens attempted to revoke the law the following August, but failed. [42] Rockport passed a similar ban in 2019. [43]
Other towns outside the Concord and Cape Cod areas passed bans starting in 2018:
On April 9, 2019, the Town Meeting of West Tisbury, Massachusetts, banned the sale of non-alcoholic carbonated beverages in single-serve plastic bottles (defined as less than 34 ounces) starting January 1, 2020. [45] This is apparently the first such law in the United States to cover soft drinks and similar beverages. Two neighboring towns on the island, Chilmark and Aquinnah quickly followed with similar measures. A local campaign, Plastic-Free MV, had succeeded in all six towns on the island by March, 2022. [46]
In January 2019, Sustainable Practices, a Cape Cod-based environmental nonprofit established by Madhavi Venkatesan, initiated a regional campaign (Cape Plastic Bottle Ban) with the Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban. The goal of the Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban was to eliminate municipal purchase of single-use plastic bottles and the sale of beverages in single-use plastic containers on municipal property. Citizen Petitions were filed for town adoption of the Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban by-law in the towns of: Brewster, Chatham, Dennis, Harwich, Orleans, Sandwich and Yarmouth and two petitions were submitted through the town Recycling Committees of Provincetown and Wellfleet. The Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban by-law was adopted in Chatham Archived 2019-09-09 at the Wayback Machine , Harwich, [47] Orleans, [48] and Wellfleet [49] on their respective town meeting floors and passed unanimously with the exception of Harwich, which passed by a margin of 57 votes. Provincetown's Select Board adopted the Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban as policy. Of the remaining towns: Brewster, Sandwich and Yarmouth postponed the vote, while Dennis failed to pass by 24 votes.
Members of Sustainable Practices refiled Citizen's Petitions in the towns of Brewster, Yarmouth and Sandwich in the fall of 2019 and filed a Citizen's Petition in Falmouth. In Dennis, the organization worked through the town Recycling Committees and in Eastham directly with the town to have the Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban adopted as a policy. As of November 21, 2019 the Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban was adopted in the form (bylaw or policy) submitted in all towns that were petitioned: Brewster, Dennis, Eastham, Falmouth, Sandwich, and Yarmouth for an overall adoption of 11 of the 15 towns that comprise Cape Cod. In 2020, the Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban was also submitted as a Citizen's Petition for vote at Town Meeting in the towns of Mashpee and Bourne and through a Board of Selectmen article in the town of Truro. The article was passed in Mashpee [50] and delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bourne and Truro. As of July 2021, the Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban has been adopted by all Cape towns. Bourne Town Meeting passed it in May, 2021 [51] and Truro passed the Municipal Ban in June 2021. [52]
The goal of the Cape Plastic Bottle Ban is to have a uniform policy on single-use plastic bottles across Barnstable County and facilitate education on citizen-based responsibility in protecting municipal water. The campaign has two phases: (1) the Municipal Plastic Bottle Ban; and (2) the Commercial Single-use Plastic Water Bottle Ban (Commercial Ban), which was initiated in January 2020 (due to COVID-19, voting was delayed until the fall 2020 Town Meeting season). Seven towns adopted the Commercial Ban in 2020, eliminating the retail sale of non-carbonated, non-flavored water in single-use plastic bottles of less than one gallon in size effective September 2021: Brewster, Eastham, Falmouth, Harwich, Orleans, Provincetown and Wellfleet. [53] Additional retail bans were passed in Chatham, Dennis, and Sandwich in May 2021. The Commercial Ban was defeated in Yarmouth by a narrow margin of 9 votes. In fall 2021, Mashpee passed the Commercial Ban, [54] while Sandwich rescinded the Commercial Ban. [55] As of year-end 2021, 9 of 15 Cape Cod towns had an effective Commercial Single-use Plastic Water Bottle Ban with 10 towns having passed the Commercial Ban. However, Mashpee's Ban was rescinded at the spring 2022 town meeting be effective September 30, 2022. [52] followed by Dennis [56]
In spring 2023, Sustainable Practices initiated a new campaign targeted to ban single-use plastic take-out containers and cutlery. The bylaw passed in 2 of the 7 towns where it was filed, Yarmouth and Harwich and went into effect January 1, 2024. Yarmouth also passed the Commercial Single-use Plastic Water Bottle Ban, which then went into effect at year-end 2023. [57] [58]
In 2015, the state of Bihar has banned the usage of plastic water bottles in governmental meetings and events. [59]
In 2016, the state of Sikkim restricted the usage of plastic water bottles (in government functions and meetings) along with styrofoam products. [60]
The government of Maharashtra banned all single-use plastic beverage bottles in March 2018. Single-use is defined there as under half a liter. Larger sizes have a refundable fee applied to them. [61]
The government of Gujarat banned use of plastic mineral water bottle in all government offices and events from March 2019.
Washington University in St. Louis is believed to be the first university to enact a ban on single use water bottles. [62] They have noted a significant reduction of over 500,000 plastic bottles being generated annually. [63]
Despite being the second American public university to enact a ban on bottled water in 2013, the University of Vermont has not yet experienced much positive effect from the implemented ban. University professor Rachel Johnson has seen, "total number of bottles on campus increase." In conjunction with the ban, UVM integrated a number of filtered water stations across campus. However, the consumption of other bottled beverages such as soda and juices has become more prevalent. The university continues its efforts by, "doubling the number of water stations on campus and stocking them with biodegradable cups." [64]
Contrary to the University of Vermont, overall bottled beverage sales have decreased by more than a third over the past seven years at Washington University in St. Louis. Since eliminating the sales of bottled water on campus, the university has also seen a decrease in soda fountain sales, which leads observers to believe that water is not necessarily being replaced by sugary beverage alternatives. The assistant vice chancellor for sustainability largely attributes the university's success to its bottled water ban, as well as its accompanying efforts to retrofit old water fountains, add new water stations on campus, and celebrate the student body's growing interest in sustainability. [65]
Some alternatives to plastic bottles are already available and many more are to be designed. For example, a simple solution to this is to use a reusable bottle and fill it up at stations, water fountains, or food establishments. [66]
Another alternative to single use plastic bottled water is aluminum canned and bottled water. Aluminum cans are unique in that they are most often recycled directly back into themselves meaning that the average can has a very high percentage of recycled content. This means that aluminum cans have more than three times the recycled content than EPA estimates for glass or plastic, with 70 percent recycled content on average. [67]
Innovative alternatives to plastics continue to emerge. A group of students has managed to create a biodegradable plastic bottle from algae and other natural materials. The implementation and use of a product like this could take a big cut in the use of plastics. [68]
Harwich is a New England town on Cape Cod, in Barnstable County in the state of Massachusetts in the United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 13,440. Harwich experiences a seasonal increase to roughly 37,000. The town is a popular vacation spot, located near the Cape Cod National Seashore. Harwich's beaches are on the Nantucket Sound side of Cape Cod. Harwich has three active harbors. Saquatucket, Wychmere and Allen Harbors are all in Harwich Port. The town of Harwich includes the villages of Pleasant Lake, West Harwich, East Harwich, Harwich Port, Harwich Center, North Harwich and South Harwich.
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The name Cape Cod, coined in 1602 by Bartholomew Gosnold, is the ninth oldest English place-name in the U.S.
Barnstable County is a county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 228,996. The county seat is Barnstable. The county consists of Cape Cod and associated islands.
Mashpee is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, on Cape Cod. The population was 15,060 as of 2020. The town is the site of the headquarters and most members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, one of two federally recognized Wampanoag groups.
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the Sudbury and Assabet rivers join to form the Concord River.
Brewster is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population of Brewster was 10,318 at the 2020 census.
Falmouth is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable. The terminal for the Steamship Authority ferries to Martha's Vineyard is located in the village of Woods Hole in Falmouth. Woods Hole also contains several scientific organizations such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), the Woodwell Climate Research Center, NOAA's Woods Hole Science Aquarium, and the scientific institutions' various museums.
Bottled water is drinking water packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not, with packaging sizes ranging from small single serving bottles to large carboys for water coolers. The consumption of bottled water is influenced by factors such as convenience, taste, perceived safety, and concerns over the quality of municipal tap water. Concerns about the environmental impact of bottled water, including the production and disposal of plastic bottles, have led to calls for more sustainable practices in the industry.
A drinking straw is a utensil that is intended to carry the contents of a beverage to one's mouth. Disposable straws are commonly made from plastics. However, environmental concerns related to plastic pollution and new regulation have led to rise in reusable and biodegradable straws. Following a rise in regulation and public concern, some companies have even voluntarily banned or reduced the number of plastic straws used. Alternative straws are often made of reusable materials like silicone or metal or alternative disposable and biodegradable materials like paper, cardboard, pasta, or bamboo.
The Cape Cod Baseball League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousand former players who have gone on to play in the major leagues.
A disposable is a product designed for a single use after which it is recycled or is disposed as solid waste. The term is also sometimes used for products that may last several months to distinguish from similar products that last indefinitely. The word "disposables" is not to be confused with the word "consumables", which is widely used in the mechanical world. For example, welders consider welding rods, tips, nozzles, gas, etc. to be "consumables", as they last only a certain amount of time before needing to be replaced. Consumables are needed for a process to take place, such as inks for printing and welding rods for welding, while disposable products are items that can be discarded after they become damaged or are no longer useful.
The Cape Cod Rail Trail (CCRT) is a 25.5-mile (41.0 km) paved rail trail located on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The trail route passes through the towns of Yarmouth, Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, and Wellfleet. It connects to the 6-plus mile (10 km) Old Colony Rail Trail leading to Chatham, the 2 mile Yarmouth multi-use trail, and 8 miles (13 km) of trails within Nickerson State Park. Short side trips on roads lead to national seashore beaches including Coast Guard Beach at the end of the Nauset Bike Trail in Cape Cod National Seashore. The trail is part of the Claire Saltonstall Bikeway.
Southeastern Massachusetts is a region of Massachusetts located south of Boston and east of Rhode Island. It is commonly used to describe areas with cultural ties to both Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, and includes the cities of New Bedford and Fall River and their respective suburbs. Despite the location of Cape Cod and the islands to its south, which are the southeasternmost parts of the state, they are not often grouped in this designation. At its broadest definition, it includes all of Massachusetts south of Boston, southeast of Worcester, and east of Providence, Rhode Island, while at its narrowest definition, it is Bristol County and the Western portion of Plymouth County. The region including Cape Cod roughly corresponds with the location of the historic Plymouth Colony, which became part of Massachusetts in 1691.
Disposable food packaging comprises disposable products often found in fast-food restaurants, take-out restaurants and catering establishments. Typical products are foam food containers, plates, bowls, cups, utensils, doilies and tray papers. These products can be made from a number of materials including plastics, paper, bioresins, wood and bamboo.
A plastic bag ban or charge is a law that restricts the use of lightweight plastic bags at retail establishments. In the early 21st century, there has been a global trend towards the phase-out of lightweight plastic bags. Single-use plastic shopping bags, commonly made from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic, have traditionally been given for free to customers by stores when purchasing goods: the bags have long been considered a convenient, cheap, and hygienic way of transporting items. Problems associated with plastic bags include use of non-renewable resources, difficulties during disposal, and environmental impacts. Concurrently with the reduction in lightweight plastic bags, shops have introduced reusable shopping bags.
Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized by size into micro-, meso-, or macro debris. Plastics are inexpensive and durable, making them very adaptable for different uses; as a result, manufacturers choose to use plastic over other materials. However, the chemical structure of most plastics renders them resistant to many natural processes of degradation and as a result they are slow to degrade. Together, these two factors allow large volumes of plastic to enter the environment as mismanaged waste which persists in the ecosystem and travels throughout food webs.
The Southeastern Massachusetts Resource Recovery Facility is a waste-to-energy and recycling facility located in Rochester, Massachusetts. It is currently owned by Reworld.
There is no national plastic bag fee or ban currently in effect in the United States. However, the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico have banned disposable bags. Over 200 counties and municipalities have enacted ordinances either imposing a fee on plastic bags or banning them outright, including all counties in Hawaii.
Madhavi Venkatesan is an American economist and environmental activist. She is an associate teaching professor of economics at Northeastern University.
In the late 20th and early 21st century, there has been a global movement towards the phase-out of polystyrene foam as a single use plastic (SUP). Early bans of polystyrene foam intended to eliminate ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), formerly a major component.
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