A town in Australia has banned the sale of bottled water.
The central New South Wales community of Bundanoon has voted overwhelmingly in favour of a ban on bottled water.
More than 350 people turned out at a public meeting at the town hall tonight to vote on the motion.
Only one local resident voted against the proposal, along with a representative from the bottled water industry.
The Bundy on Tap campaign will see the sale of pre-packaged bottled water banned in local shops in favour of reusable plastic bottles that can be filled up for free.
ABC news, NSW town bans bottled water
Amusingly, to most Australians "Bundy" means Bundaberg rum.
What WAS the town of Bundanoon thinking? Trying to poach Schoolies Week from the Gold Coast?
H2-WHOA! Australian town bans bottled water sales
By KRISTEN GELINEAU
SYDNEY (AP) — Residents of a rural Australian town hoping to protect the earth and their wallets have voted to ban the sale of bottled water, the first community in the country — and possibly the world — to take such a drastic step in the growing backlash against the industry.
Residents of Bundanoon cheered after their near-unanimous approval of the measure at a town meeting Wednesday.
*snip*
First popularized in the 1980s as a convenient, healthy alternative to sugary drinks, bottled water today is often criticized as an environmental menace, with bottles cluttering landfills and requiring large amounts of energy to produce and transport.
Over the past few years, at least 60 cities in the United States and a handful of others in Canada and the United Kingdom have agreed to stop spending taxpayer dollars on bottled water,
*snip*
Bundanoon's battle against the bottle has been brewing for years, ever since a Sydney-based beverage company announced plans to build a water extraction plant in the town. Residents were furious over the prospect of an outsider taking their water, trucking it up to Sydney for processing and then selling it back to them. The town is still fighting the company's proposal in court.
Then in March, Huw Kingston, who owns the town's combination cafe and bike shop, had a thought: If the town was so against hosting a water bottling company, why not ban the end product?
To prevent lost profit in the 10-or-so town businesses that sell bottled water, Kingston suggested they instead sell reusable bottles for about the same price. Residents will be able to fill the bottles for free at public water fountains, or pay a small fee to fill them with filtered water kept in the stores.
The measure will not impose penalties on those who don't comply when it goes into effect in September. Still, all the business owners voluntarily agreed to follow it, recognizing the financial and environmental drawbacks of bottled water, Kingston said.
On Wednesday, 356 people turned up for a vote — the biggest turnout ever at a town meeting.
Only two people voted no. One said he was worried banning bottled water would encourage people to drink sugary beverages. The other was Geoff Parker, director of the Australasian Bottled Water Institute — which represents the bottled water industry. "Bundy on Tap" could attract some desperate types to the sleepy tourist town Bundanoon.
*snip*
On Thursday, Parker blasted the ban as unfair, misguided and ineffective.
He said the bottled water industry is a leader in researching ways to minimize bottled beverage impact on the environment. Plus, he said, the ban removes consumer choice.
"To take away someone's right to choose possibly the healthiest option in a shop fridge or a vending machine we think doesn't embrace common sense," he said.
*snip*
Google-hosted AP article "H2WHOA: Australian town bans bottled water sales
So what do you think, NSG?
Is this a great step forward for the environment? Or a threat to public health?
Also, is a public meeting on a wednesday night, without privacy of the vote, the right way to make a "democratic" community decision?
