Elder Convinces Town to Ban Bottled Water

An 82-year-old women has succeeded to put a ban on bottled water a small town in MA. Jean Hill protested that environmentally, plastic bottles from bottled water filling up landfills. Scott Olson/Getty Images

A ban on bottled water will go into effect in Massachusetts’s little town of Concord on Jan. 1, 2011. The ban comes after a heated battle between the bottled water companies and one Ms. Jean HiMs. Hill, an 82-year-old resident of Concord, proposed a ban on water bottles at a Concord town hall meeting in the spring. Following what were largely her single-handed efforts of handing out flyers and speaking to political representatives, Concord banned bottled water in April.

For Jean Hill, bottled water is an unnecessary component of the American lifestyle, or at least the Concordian one. Environmentally, plastic bottles from bottled water are adding up in the landfills. From all of the bottled water consumed in the United States, consumer group Food and Water Watch reports that only about 14 percent of the bottles are recycled by consumers. Moreover, the distribution, production and other processes of the bottled water industry consume 17 million barrels of oil annually—enough to fuel 1 million vehicles on the road each year.

Of course, bottled water advocates, such as the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) did not remain silent in response to the recent ban. They said that the plastic waste from bottled water is negligible. According to IBWA, it only contributes about one-third of 1 percent of the U.S. waste stream. The group also said that plastic bottled water is the single most recycled item in the United States with a 30.9 percent recycle rate.

The IBWA said that bottled water comprises an integral part of people’s health. “With the current high rates of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, any actions that discourage or prevent consumers from drinking water—whether tap or bottled—are not in the public interest,” said the IBWA in a statement responding to the ban.

Hill argued that there is no reason to have any plastic waste from bottled water at all because despite what water bottle companies have sold to the public, bottled water is not any healthier than tap water. Bottled water is often tap water, put in a plastic bottle, capped, and sold to the public for a profit.

According to Food and Water Watch, tap water may be safer than bottled water considering that tap water undergoes hundreds of tests per month by the Environmental Protection Agency. Bottled water, which is monitored by the Food and Drug Administration, is tested once a week.

Hill suggested investing in a lasting thermos instead of a temporary bottle of water.

In the town of Concord, officials have expressed ambiguity about how strictly they plan to implement the ban come January, which may be their way of appeasing both town residents and bottled water companies. The implementation of such a ban poses some challenges as the sale of large boxes of water in places like Costco are not prohibited by the new law. Bottled water is not forbidden within the town if bought outside of the town.