State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Concord Bans Bottled Water

Concord, Massachusetts is famous for the fact that Thoreau lived there at Walden Pond in the 1800s. But today, the environmentally conscious town is gaining more and more press as the first town in the United States to ban the sale of bottled water.

bottledwaterAn 82-year-old woman named Jean Hill orchestrated the ban, and it was passed at a town meeting this past spring. If the ban holds, beginning on January 1, bottled water will no longer be sold within the town. However, it is still uncertain how such a ban can be enforced and handled. While it may have good intentions, there are several road blocks that must be cleared before an outright ban can begin. The two major hurdles are the legality and the enforceability of such a ban.

First of all, there is the issue of whether it is legal at all. Bottled water companies have already said they plan on suing if the ban takes effect. When so many other companies use plastic water bottles, such as soft drinks, sports drinks, and bottled teas, a ban on only bottled water and not all bottled beverages brings up some issues that can cause major controversies. Since bottled water is a legal commodity, a ban might infringe on free-trade agreements. If this is the case, bottled water companies can potentially get this ban overturned.

Second, the issue of how to enforce such a ban is still uncertain. What sort of repercussions would there be for companies that do not comply? Due to the touristic nature of the Walden pond area, which gets many visitors  during hot summer,  many vendors will be unhappy and unwilling to stop selling bottled water because of the large number of tourists that need to be hydrated. Will the ban be enforced, or is it more of a suggestion, so that refreshment stands that ignore it will have no punishment? A ban without punishment is not going to be an effective ban.

In my opinion, this ban is ignoring the reason for the large amount of garbage that is caused from plastic bottles. It remains a fact that almost 80% of plastic drink bottles are trashed rather than recycled. Banning bottled water will not solve this problem, and the amount of trashed bottles will be barely affected. There are several good reasons for not drinking bottled water, but the argument about the plastic bottles is far more widespread than just bottled water. If they are going to stop bottled water, they need to evaluate stopping soda and fruit juice companies as well.

What is your opinion? Is this a step in the right direction, or is this ban unnecessary and other paths should be used to decrease the use of bottled water and decrease pollution from plastic bottles? We would love to hear your comments!

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ZACA
ZACA
13 years ago

The ban definitely misses an important point, but recycling is not it. I imagine the people behind the ban on bottled water are all too aware of the enormous amount of waste incurred by the industry each year, as well as the portion that could potentially be diverted from landfills. So with that in mind, they are going a step further and saying that the issue in this case is not that we need to improve our recycling statistics, but that we should not have to do so in the first place. The bill has been introduced because the waste stream created by the bottled water industry should not exist in the first place; not because it is cleaned up inefficiently, true as that may be.

We are not going to get rid of bottled water by banning it, though. Rather, this waste stream can be eliminated only by teaching people that they do not need it — we need to address the unnecessary demand for bottled water, not reduce the supply.

With that said, it is an interesting first step, and if the legal fees incurred by the town and state are not too great, the publicity that hopefully follows the case just might be worthwhile in the end, regardless of the outcome.

Marian Shaw
Marian Shaw
5 years ago

I think the ban on bottled water is not enough. I have given this some thought and no one has the right to litter the city of concord or the natural water ways We “don’t mess with Texas”‘highways promoted by Willie Nelson , a famous Texan IS POSTED ON OUT HIGHWAYS WITH A FINE LISTED FOR LITTERING OF $$200.00 ENFORCED BY TEXAS STATE POLICE CALLED HI WAY PATROL. there are lots of places to put in trash cans or recycle containers PULL OVER SPOTS AND ROAD SIDE PARKS . THE FINE SHOULD BE EXTRA FOR PLASTIC THAN FOR PAPER THAT WILL BIODEGRADE SOON.$200 FOR GENERAL LITTER PLUS $ 25.00 FOR EVERY PLASTIC BOTTLE. THE CITY SHOULD ALSO MAKE IT CONVENIENT FOR CITIZENS AND VISITOR TO PLACE THE PLASTIC BOTTLES IN RECYCLE CANS ALL AROUND THE CITY AND COUNTY. THE BEST WAY TO MOTIVATE PEOPLE IS THE CARROT BUT MUST HAVE THE STICK. SO YOU SHOULD THINK OF REWARDS FOR RECYCLING. CHILDREN CAN ASK THEIR NEIGHBORS TO SAVE THEIR PLASTIC FOR THEIR RECYCLE DRIVE WHERE THEIR ARE A FEW PRIZES LIKE A FREE MOVIE PASS OR GROCERS COULD GIVE A PRIZE OF REUSEABLE CUPS FOR MANY PARTICIPANTS AND THE CITY AND COUNTY COULD GIVE A FREE BICYCLE FOR THE WINNER FOR THE MOAT TURNED IN BY WEIGHT AND ONE FROM A LOTTERY OF NAMES OF ALL WHO PARTICIPATED YOU NEED TO PUT RECYCLE CONTAINERS BY ALL PICNIC TABLE AND ON ALL 4 CORNERS OF THE PARK. THE PARK SHOULD ALSO HAVE A WATER FOUNTAIN CAPABLE OF REFILLING A WATER CONTAINER NEAR THE SIDEWALK AND STREET FOR WALKERS And BIKERS AS WELL PARK PEOPLE . THERE MUST BE A PLASTIC CONTAINER ALONG BIKE PATHS AND PLACES WHERE TOURIST STOP TO SEE A BEAUTIFUL NATURAL SITE WITH A SIGN THAT SAYS “HELP US KEEP OUR NATURAL BEAUTY FREE OF LITTER PARTICULARLY PLASTIC . A SAYING LIKE ” CONCORD IS STILL BEAUTIFUL ” ” HELP KEEP IT THAT WAY. BY EVERY RECYCLE PLACE EVERY IN TOWN , “THEN MAKE A MINUTE MAN PROUD PITCH IT IN .”
Have basket ball star say it . Radio and tv can for free show the famous basket ball player pitching it in. ie not littering is cool. No one has the right to litter anywhere on the earth.
iT is not in the bill of rights. The city needs to really promote the great high quality water concord has. That is not common. Many other cities have to truck in mediocre water and only give out enough for drinking about 1/2 gal per person per day while the people had to bathe in dangerous water . LIST 2 GREAT THING ABOUT CONCORD AND “3RD THE MOST FANTASTIC WATER. SPOKEN BY THE MAYOR , THE PARKS AND RECREATION HEAD ETC. EVERY OPPORTUNITY YOU GET. WE WANT ALL VISITORS SEE ———– AND === AND TASTE OUR TERRIFIC EXCELLENT QUALITY WATER.. iF PEOPLE WANT TO WASTE THEIR MONEY BUYING INDIVIDUAL WATER BOTTLES EVERY TIME THEY ARE THIRSTY ,LET THEM. jUST KEEP IT OUT OF CONCORD , MASS, THE US, THE CREEKS , RIVERS , AND OCEANS. THEY HAVE NOW LEARNED HOW TO USE RECYCLED PLASTIC TO MAKE STEEL!!!!!! THEY CALL IT GREEN STEEL!!! THE VALUE OF IT SHOULD BE GOING UP WHICH IS GOOD NEWS FOR CITIES. This gives people lots of choice and enlists children who will pressure grandparents parents and neighbors to help and maybe teach them to be green. Talk it over and maybe you can improve on these suggested ideas. I feel the great cheap tap water is key and getting a celebrity to help makes a big difference.