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Water filling stations like this one are deployed across Grand Canyon National Park.
Activists concerned that Coca-Cola might be influencing National Park Service policy were breathing a bit easier Tuesday after the Grand Canyon National Park announced it would eliminate the sale of bottled water inside the park within 30 days.
"Our parks should set the standard for resource protection and sustainability," John Wessels, regional director for the park service, said in a statement. "I feel confident that the impacts to park concessioners and partners have been given fair consideration and that this plan can be implemented with minimal impacts to the visiting public."
The move came after activists on Dec. 2 released an email from National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis in which he stated that "while I applaud the intent (of the ban), there are going to be consequences, since Coke is a major sponsor of our recycling efforts."
Coca-Cola is also a major vendor of water and other drinks throughout the parks system.
The email disclosure was followed by Jarvis on Dec. 14 directing parks to implement a policy to reduce and recycle disposable water bottles. Included was "an option to eliminate in-park sales" if the regional director so approved and "following a thorough analysis of a variety of factors ranging from the cost to install water filling stations, to the cost and availability of BPA-free reusable containers, to potential effects on public safety," the park service stated.
The group that obtained the email, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, told msnbc.com that while it considers the decision a victory it still has concerns.
"While we are happy that Director Jarvis has reversed course, the record clearly shows intense public scrutiny forced this abrupt U-turn -- it did not result from a dispassionate or open decision-making process," PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch said. "We hope this episode will limit the role of corporate donors in park management decisions."
Ruch said PEER still questions several provisions that he called "bureaucratic hoops" -- including ones that require any park seeking to ban plastic bottles to run it by the NPS health office and take annual surveys on visitor satisfaction and sales revenues.
"While Grand Canyon National Park has apparently met these requirements," he said, "another dozen parks, including Yellowstone and Death Valley, that had been considering bottle bans when Jarvis issued his system-wide moratorium may be deterred."
Grand Canyon National Park estimates that the waste associated with disposable bottles makes up 20 percent of its overall waste stream and 30 percent of its recyclables. It has also "experienced increasing amounts of litter associated with disposable plastic bottles along trails both on the rim and within the inner canyon, marring canyon viewpoints and visitor experiences," the park service stated.
Coke, Grand Canyon bottled water controversy gets murkier
"We want to minimize both the monetary and environmental costs associated with water packaged in disposable containers," added Grand Canyon Superintendent Dave Uberuaga.
Visitors instead are encouraged to bring or buy reusable water bottles, which can be refilled for free at stations throughout the park that use spring water.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
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Wow, more of that big city thinking. No more revenue from water sales, coke pulls whatever sponsorship it provided for recycling, and most of us are still going to bring water with us to the Grand Canyon and other National Parks. Morons.
Pick up and recycle your freakin trash people, and then there is no problem.
We should get rid of bottled water all together.. I grew up drinking from the Tap and so did most of us. And back then and not every other kid had add addhd and all those other crazy diseases that noone had back then. I'm not saying bottled water is the only reason. I just don't get it..
Put a deposit on all drinking containers. This will not stop it, but it will get a few of our lazy a#@es to pick them up for the deposit. Growing up, that was a large part of my spending money. Or we could just go on about our business and let that Texas size spot of plastic trash in the Pacific grow to the size of the U.S.A!!
I just don't see it having much of an impact. Most people will be bringing in stuff from outside the park. And it will be just more so now. "honey, did you pack water in the RV, because they don't sell it at the park anymore". Besides, who wait's to get there so they can by a $3 bottle of water?
Grand Canyon is stopping the sales of bottled water.............if only there was a huge hole in the ground to put those bottles........hum........now where would we find a huge hole?
My family and I spent some time at Grand Canyon last summer. One of the visit's pleasures was that water was so readily available for those who wanted to refill their bottles. They make it very easy. And it's a shame not to take advantage of it, especially considering the price of bottled water. We thought it was a great system and a great park.
My God. What next? That is SO stupid
So now someone who decides to purchase a drink at the park has to choose a soda because bottled water is no longer sold.....the National Park Service loses out on revenue from sales....the visiting public has one less healthy choice for a beverage....priceless......
The Park Service should institute a mandatory fee to bring in disposable plastic bottles. $50.00 per disposable bottle / refunded when you leave the park with the bottle. If you leave your trash, you pay in advance.
Wrong...now they can sell more reusable souvenir water bottles for folks to use which will be priced higher but they will want to take home. It's a win-win for the NPS as long as they retained the sponsorship dollars of Coke. Sell Nalgene bottles at $10 a pop, give away the water, then save money in trash and recycling and clean up the park to boot. With budgets the way they are don't think they didn't do the math on this move beforehand for a second.
Of course if we had had the foresight to not turn our national parks into bastardized amusement parks to begin with this wouldn't be an issue.
Next step=TSA type searches of all park visitors, their vehicles, backpacks and orifices.
Just like military "justice"-some screw up, the whole unit is punished for it.
It's a great idea for anyone who truly loves the outdoors and understands the ecological impact of thousands of discarded plastic containers littering the scenery, that have a longer shelf life than that of the canyon itself! Those there to hike, enjoy, and pursue nature's calling are well aware of basics and equipped with reusable gear. Those that are there simply to look at the "biggest hole in the world" can buy a coke at the concession stand and be on their way! I hail the decision for this national treasure and environmentalists everywhere. "Don't be bitter, just don't litter!"
Would drinking fountains be out of the question ?
Ewww. Do you really drink from something that gross people have slobbered all over? I would never drink from a fountain.
Ewww. Do you really drink from something that gross people have slobbered all over? I would never drink from a fountain.
Last week, I saw a park Ranger, Glock 40 drawn, shouting at a kid to drop the "Ozarka" 16oz water bottle, assume the position, hands on your head!!
JUST KIDDING!!!!!!
LOL!!!!!!!!!!
I usually bring my Dos Equis XX Lager, in glass bottles, and leave the park with them, empty.
Love the above comment from:
"RichMJones@rcn.com
$5.00 deposit/bottle!"
Sove the entire problem...if you left your bottle, at $5.00, people would scoop it up to return it for you!
make it $50.00, with a receipt proving it was yours. $10.00 refund without the receipt. There would not be one single empty left in the park.
When I was a kid, they had a 25 cent deposit on glass sodapop bottles. I can remember me and my friends occaissionally going around the local forest preserve, picking up bottles and getting enough money to buy some cap guns, hot wheels and more pop & candy. The forest preserve looked better and we learned not to just throw things away.
If all states would institute the same type of rule for plastic bottles, their would be no plastic bottle waste. Have to update the amount for modern times. The nickle many states have now is just not enough to discourage people from throwing them away. If you made it $1.00 per bottle ($50.00 in the Grand Canyon) people would pay attention.
When I was a kid, it was three cents and we picked them up all summer for money for candy (five cents) and ice cream (twelve cents) that we did not have to ask mom & dad for. Failing that, we could get enough money to fill up our mowers for our lawn-mowing business for a few cents, too. Seemed easy at the time.
Just because of principle I don't buy bottled water. Are u kidding, PAYING for free God-given water? I dunn think so!
I hate how bottled water is a status symbol and I really hate those tiny bottles of water, they should ban all plastic bottles, but no... stupid bottled water is for suckers. Epic fail.
Too bad that the only solution to human misbehavior is like what you have to do with small children- take their toys away.
We visit the National Parks regularly, and the level of stupid behavior continues to increase, unfortunately. Almost every trip to the Grand Canyon now we see at least one person per day come extremely close to falling off the edge. We expect it's just a matter of time before we witness someone achieving Darwin Award status.
That was my first thought.
Coke will pull all it's money and all those people who "wanted big business out" will be crying because "they never anticipated that these companies do so much more for the outdoors than they could have imagined in their tiny, tiny, little city minds.
"They" should just put a fence around it so "nobody" can enjoy it... oh wait "they" already did
"They" suck
There were no fences at the West Rim. I was there last week. You can walk right up to the edge if you choose.
Untill someone "chooses" to walk off into it!
This system is already in place in Zion National Park, and works very well. It took an adjustment to get used to the idea, but once one does, it works because the water stations are spread around so well. I didn't find it objectionable at all, and probably saved some money on my visit. For me that's a win. The park likely saves a lot of money as well, and the environmental impact seems lessened - again, wins in my book.