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Subscribe to RSSBans on plastic bags have taken root in communities across the country, but banning the sale of water in plastic bottles? The town of Concord, Mass., is in line to be the first in the nation to do just that, now that the state’s attorney general has signed off. The bottled water industry, for its part, is considering a lawsuit.
Championed by an 84-year-old resident during a three-year battle, the law bans the sale of single-serving PET water bottles of one liter or less starting on Jan. 1 in Concord, population 18,000.
A first offense comes with a warning, followed by $25 for second offense and $50 for any beyond that, the Boston Globe reported. It does, however, allow for an exemption during emergencies.
Jean Hill, the Concord resident behind ban, told The Boston Globe that she was relieved after three years of work.
"I hope other towns will follow,’" Hill said. "I feel bottled water is a waste of money."
The state's attorney general initially shot down the proposed ban, but on Wednesday signed off after it was revised last year and it was approved last April by town residents in a 403-364 vote.
In a letter to Concord, state Attorney General Martha Coakley said she was confident the law could stand up in court, citing a case where the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Minnesota law that banned the sale of milk in non-returnable, non-refillable plastic containers. That law was passed in order to reduce the generation of solid waste.
The bottled water industry vowed to fight back, possibly in court.
"We are exploring all available options," the Virginia-based International Bottled Water Association said in a statement.
"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," the group added, noting Concord's place in U.S. history. "It will also deprive the town of needed tax revenue and harm local businesses that rely on bottled water sales."
The activist group Ban The Bottle welcomed Concord's move, calling it the first of its kind in the U.S.
Some other cities "are taking steps to curb bottled water sales, but only in city and municipal buildings," the group's Tomas Bosque told NBC News. Several universities have done so as well.
San Francisco is considering an ordinance that would require owners of new and renovated buildings to install filling stations, he said, and the city already has such stations at various parks, schools and its airport.
Bundanoon, an Australian town, enacted a ban in 2009 and believes it was the first government to do so anywhere.
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The law just bans the sell of plastic water containing bottles in Concord, MA. It doesn't ban the possession of water. Where I live wine and whiskey are banned. So people just get into your cars and drive to the next town and load up the trunk with bottled water. That is what happens here in the Bible belt when you happen to live in a dry county. Except the folks don't bring back water but uisce beatha.
I think this is great!!! I think the people who bottle this should also be held responsible. I live along one of the great lakes and these darn plastic bottles wash up on the beach's all the time. Granted it is the fault of the user, but these bottled water companies make it hard to get rid of these bottles. I feel the bottles and plastic shopping bags should be banned though out the US. We do not need plastic's. And seeing the people whom purchase plastic are not being responsible for properly disposing of it, then stop making it. Our lakes, rivers, streams and public places do not need to be polluted by this junk.
My family of 6 puts one trash can and one recycling bucket out each week. We recycle paper, non deposit plastic, aluminum, cardboard, etc. My kids are very active in sports and community. They are always grabbing waterbottles to take with them. They get very sluggish when they drink the sugary drinks. We have tried the aluminum re-fillable waterbottles but they give the water a metalic taste. Can't find a plastic re-usable water bottle that is easy to clean, does not contain PBA and is made in the USA. In our area we have deposits on our waterbottles, soda bottles, soda and beer cans, glass bottles and some vitamin water bottles. My kids use the refunded deposits to make donations to their favorite youth charity.
There is probably nothing sillier and more wasteful that people do, than to pay soft drink prices for bottled water. P.T. Barnum would love it.
Except that soft drinks are really just polluted water.
There is probably nothing sillier and more wasteful that people do, than to pay soft drink prices for bottled water. P.T. Barnum would love it.
Let's not be too hasty. Maybe companies will decide to sell us our own sperm. Remove the contaminants and improve the taste...
You all really don't get it do you? The old lady wanted this banned because it was a waste of money. If I buy it with the money That I went out and earned then it should be NONE of her business. If I bought a drink in a plastic bottle with HER money then she can complain about it. She never said a single thing about pollution or recycling or anything else, only a waste of money. We are getting our rights to make decisions on what we purchase and how we live our lives assaulted almost on a daily basis and nobody realizes our freedoms are slowly being legislated away from us and frankly that scares the HELL out of me. One poster on here said he should follow her around and see what she likes and try to get that banned also. Is that how we want to live our lives in this country??? worried about what the next thing that will be banned from existence when it doesn't concern or bother their existence in the least.
these guy are f-----g morons. What about all those 2 ltr soft drink bottles that were full of bad @!$%# to begin with. clear healthy water has never hurt anyone. get real folks.
I personally see the concern about the plastic. But I don't drink pop so when I'm on the go I like being able to grab a bottle of water and go. And why is it OK for other drinks to be sold in bottles but not water.
what about bottled mineral water? did they ban that as well?
I happen to enjoy mixing carbonated mineral water with fruit juice, makes for a nice beverage that is not overpoweringly sweet like juice by itself, but the carbonation makes it taste better. Can't get that with tap water! I guess people in Concord will start looking for those old-timey carbonator bottles like you see the Three Stooges shoot each other with ;)
Meanwhile 2 people were shot, 2 raped, 8 robbed, 10 homes broken into, 20 cars broken into or stolen, weeds growing on the side of roads and teachers and others laid off. but dang it the selectmen will sleep well knowing that they saved the world from a few plastic bottles in a landfill. Nothing like one of the cities that started the revolution for personal freedom from Governmental tyranny passing a law restricting personal freedom. The tryranny of progrssive nannies.
The main point is . . . the PEOPLE voted for the ban and that is exactly how a democratic society should work.
Banning bottled water is a great idea for the following reasons
GREEN is the way to go!!!!
Except for the fact that none of those things will happen. The vast majority of small water bottle sales are in ones and twos to people shopping at grocery stores or convenience stores or walkin/carryout restaurants--people that are thirsty now and would like to take a drink with them when leave their current location. If they cannot purchase water in plastic bottle, they will purchase some other beverage, creating an equal amount of waste requiring an equal amount litter and/or recycling costs.
Democracy should not equal people voting for stupid and pointless laws that restrict individual liberty based on the taste preferences of the majority without giving any tangible benefit to anyone or anything.
@ Mike s714! you are RIGHT ON-energy to make and energy again to recycle the plastic. I say we tax the crap out of them where they are still used or just tax the oil companies like we should anyway, and invest it in city water systems that are sorely pressed with more and more chemical toxins in our water.
Maybe the tap water in Concord tastes great but I live in the New Bedford area and our tap water is nasty.I can actually taste the chlorination. I buy bottled water but I recycle both the bottles and the gallon jugs. Why can't Concord do the same? The other solution is to extend the return policy to include plastic bottles and jugs.
humm.... maybe these voters in Corcord, MA should worry about already polluted sites in the town over banning bottled water.
A Superfund site is any land in the United States that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human health and/or the environment.
Nuclear Metals, Inc.
2229 MAIN STREET, CONCORD, MA, 017423897
And forcing ones kids to buy sugar loaded drinks (sport drinks, soda, etc) is now the only solution for them. Smart voters....... NOT :-)
I have a bad stomach and try to eliminate carbonation and caffine from my diet. So if I go to Subway or Burger King and I want a bottle of water instead of a soda, they can't sell it to me so I have to drink something I try to avoid for health reasons. Save the enviornment and kill the person. Just like the new mercury light bulbs. People don't recycle plastic, do you really think they are going to recycle a light bulb.
You do know that on every soda machine there is a button for water don't you?
Before bottled water became popular, you could get a cup of water for free.
All plastic bottles that contain consumable liquids should be outlawed. poisonous,toxic chemicals in the plastic leech into the liquid and are consumed by the person drinking the liquid.non biodegradable plastic bottles are contaminating our landfills and planet. we need to go back to making and using glass bottles.
It's about time someone came to their senses. The water bottling industry has successfully sold Americans on the whole concept of bottled water. Twenty years ago we'd have laughed if it was suggested that Americans would pay to drink water. We forgot the mentality of Americans. They fell for it! Now all of the goons who believe that they can do anything they want no matter who they hurt (Anarchists?) are screaming that they will not have access to water in bottles anymore. Hey, in case you forgot, go to your sink or a water fountain. The fridge also holds cold water and ice. Luckily, enough water bottles are recycled by caring people that we are not knee deep in the stuff. I live and teach in Northern Iraq, where it's virtually a necessity to get water from bottles. It's how we buy all the water that we consume. Unfortunately, there's no recycling here, and bottles by the millions are dumped wherever there's an open space. People who see this would change their minds about the plastic bottles very quickly. Also, people forget that plastic is made from oil, and the next time you fill up at the pump, think about how much oil is diverted to the plastic industry, so that you are "free" to buy all the water bottles you want. Oh yeah; and don't take the time to recycle...."after all, no one is going to make me go out of my way to do anything I don't want to do". Laws? We don't need any! Anarchists, unite!!! But please all move in together. The rest of us need to live together, respect each other, often do things we'd prefer not to do, all for the good of the community, in general. This is the reason that the democracy you're living under in this country and elsewhere, was established in the first place. We give up some things for the good of the community. You can't agree with that, then find another place (or planet.....you've already damaged ours beyond recognition).
More like Concord, North Korea! That is going too far, this is still a free cpountry!
Hawaii beaches are turning into particles of plastic bits washed up from the sea...it kills birds. Thats only one negative outcome of plastic bottles everywhere. There is also human health issues. We should go back to glass deposit bottles. It would sure taste better. We should invest more in our city water utility. Who wants to give the oil companies more profit for more poison? That plastic is an oil derivative....
You appear to be unaware of the fact that glass is much more energy-intensive to produce than plastic, that collection, cleaning and sterilization of glass bottles is more energy-intensive than recycling plastic, and that the increased weight of glass bottles means higher shipping costs/more fuel consumption when compared to plastic bottles.
You are free to prefer glass bottles for your beverages. But why should everybody be forced to accept your preference?
This is stupid. Soda's, juice, milk...etc all come in plastic bottles as well. Are you kiding me? This town is stupid... and any other town/place to follow and put the ban on selling water bottles is just as stupid.
I don't like plastic bottles at all but also do not like big government telling me or others how to live. The American way of life includes Liberty. Without that, it is not a free society! If people want to do the right thing they will boycott beverages in plastic containers and purchase glass instead; providing, of course, if any competitor has the smarts to offer water in glass for those consumers who want it.
so just sell 1.1 liter bottles of water. problem solved...
So if you only intend to drink 16ozs of water (one of the most common sizes), you should be forced by government decree to purchase twice the amount of water you intend to drink and then dispose of the unused water and a bottle which is twice as big as you would have otherwise purchased? So the government is now mandating that you waste your money, water, and plastics?
Yeah, that sounds like brilliant policy.
People that ban things ought to be banned. And you people call yourself "a free country"? What a joke the United States has become. Instead of being open and generous, the greater part of you have become small-minded, picky, little dictators. It's like a bad disease is holding the nation in its grip. The main symptom being, that proponents of all this "creepy abuse of governmental functions in order to satisfy some private like or dislike" will say that it's for "the good of the community". Well, go ahead, make my day, and regulate the United States into a complete economic standstill.
Concord, Mass - isn't that kind of near Salem, of "witch trial" fame? Well, the same mentality seems to be alive and well, and sadly, it is alive on both sides of the political spectrum...