Concord, Massachusetts, has banned the sale of bottled water
in any amount smaller than one liter. Starting on January 1st, the
law states that anyone caught selling small water bottles will be warned, then
fined $25 for a second offense, and finally $50 for each subsequent offense.
Jean Hill led the campaign in Concord after her grandson
told her about the vast amount of plastic waste that floats in the Pacific
Ocean. “What I’m trying to do with this bylaw is to increase the barriers to
buying single-serve bottled water,” she told the New York Times.
Some residents of Concord disagree with the law and see it
as pointless, since they can still purchase the bottles from other towns.
Bottled water companies claim that having easy access to water is essential to
peoples’ day-to-day lives, and that by selling single-serve bottles they are
helping people live healthier lives.
Concord is not the only town to place a ban on the tiny
plastic bottles, though. Bundanoon, Australia banned all bottled water in 2009.
Nearly a hundred US universities and other local governments around the world
have also placed restrictions on the sale of plastic bottles.
Concord’s law only addresses the sale of water, though, and
not other drinks sold in plastic bottles. Will the ban be effective, or will it
simply encourage more people to choose soda and sugary drinks over water?
“In order to help people change, you need to put policies in
place that steer them away from buying bottled water and toward considering the
many other good alternatives,” Jean Hill said.
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