From all media accounts – both traditional and social media – the world is taking note of one small Australian town’s complete ban of bottled water. While many towns around the US are banning the purchase of bottled water by town governments, no town has yet taken as bold a stand as Bundanoon, Australia. According to a New York Times report, the Bundy on Tap campaign did not begin as an environmental crusade. It started when a Sydney-based bottling company sought permission to extract millions of liters from the local aquifer.
From the New York Times: “At first, residents were upset at the prospect of tanker trucks rumbling through their quiet streets. But as opposition grew, Mr. Kingston said many began to question the “bizarre” notion of trucking water some 160 kilometers, or 100 miles, north to a plant in Sydney, only to transport it somewhere else — possibly even back to Bundanoon — for sale.
“‘We became aware, as a community, of what the bottled water industry was all about,” said Mr. Kingston. “So the idea was floated that if we don’t want an extraction plant in our town, maybe we shouldn’t be selling the end product at all.”
The ban is voluntary but, the story noted, the town’s six food retailers have agreed to pull bottled water from their shelves starting in September. Read the full New York Times article.
Maybe this will inspire the County Commissioners????