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Seletected Bottled Water Bans and Back to the Tap Initiatives
From Earth Policy Institute, December 2007.
U.S. Cities
| U.S. City |
Description |
| U.S. Conference of Mayors (multiple cities)
| At June 2007 meeting of organization representing over 1,100 U.S. cities, Mayors Newsom (San Francisco), Anderson (Salt Lake City), and Rybak (Minneapolis) sponsored a passing resolution underlining the importance of using municipal water and calling for studies into environmental impacts of bottled water. |
| Davis, CA | An October 2007 City Council decision banned the purchase or sale of single-use water bottles for city operations and events as part of a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. |
| Emeryville, CA | One of the first cities to endorse Corporate Accountability International’s “Think Outside the Bottle” campaign. Discontinued purchase of large bottled water for economic reasons. |
| Los Angeles, CA | Mayor Thomas Bradley issued the first order restricting the use of city funds for purchasing bottled water in January 1987. Each subsequent mayor has continued the ban on city purchases of bottled water. |
| San Francisco, CA | In June 2007, Mayor Gavin Newsom signed an Executive Directive prohibiting city money from being spent on single serving bottled water as of July 2007. By December 2007, all city departments and agencies are to be rid of bottled water containers and use municipal supplies. The city had been spending nearly $500,000 each year on bottled water. |
| San Jose, CA | Mayor Chuck Reed and several city council members have endorsed a pending ban on purchase of individually packaged bottled water with city funds. Memo of recommendation likely to go to Rules and Open Government Committee in mid-December 2007. |
| Santa Barbara, CA | City purchases of bottled water were banned in April 2007. |
| Chicago, IL | Landmark tax of five cents on each bottle of water sold in the city was passed by city council in November 2007 to discourage consumption and landfill waste. |
| Urbana, IL | Considering cancelling bottled water contracts for city buildings. |
| Louisville, KY | Since 1997 the city has distributed more than 1.8 million refillable “Pure Tap” bottles to residents. |
| Boston, MA | Conducting audit to determine city spending on bottled water. Has signed the “Think Outside the Bottle” pledge. |
| Ann Arbor, MI | Buying or serving commercially bottled water at City Council functions banned as of May 2007. |
| Minneapolis, MN | Mayor R.T. Rybak has endorsed the “Think Outside the Bottle” campaign and promotes municipal tap water over bottled water. He has requested that all city departments assess and reduce their use of bottled water. |
| St. Louis, MO | Mayor Francis Slay plans to ban bottled water purchases for city employees with access to tap water by early 2008. |
| New York, NY | City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Department of Environmental Protection are sponsoring a $700,000 campaign to promote tap water over bottled water. |
| Salt Lake City, UT | In October 2006 Mayor Rocky Anderson sent letter to cabinet members requesting that city departments voluntarily no longer offer bottled water at meetings, and he is urging the city’s restaurants to cease serving bottled water. |
| Charlottesville, VA | In August 2007 Mayor David Brown proposed eliminating “city purchase of bottled water for meetings, city events, and vending machines.” |
| Vancouver, WA | As of August 2007 city council members will no longer use bottled water as part of a sustainability initiative. |
| Wauwatosa, WI | Considering cancelling bottled water contracts for city buildings. |
Cities Outside the United States
| City |
Country |
Description |
| Local Government Association of New South Wales (NSW) (multiple cities)
| Australia | This federation that represents 73 local government councils from across New South Wales passed a motion in October 2007 supporting the launch of an awareness campaign about the environmental impact of water bottles. This covers issues of “resource conservation, waste management, container deposit legislation, extended producer responsibility and greenhouse [gas] emissions.” |
| Manly, NSW | Australia | Mayor Peter Macdonald is asking all city councils in Australia to urge residents to give up bottled water and drink tap instead; motion for his city will be voted on by Manly council in December 2007. |
| Burnaby, BC Canada | Canada | Mayor Derek Corrigan’s office stopped buying bottled water and uses pitchers of tap water at council and committee meetings. |
| Vancouver, BC | Canada | Vancouver Councilor Tim Stevenson is considering motion to ban sales of bottled water “on city property” and noted that bottled water is rarely served at city meetings. He chairs Metro Vancouver’s Water Committee, which is soon to be gearing up a massive educational campaign on why the region’s tap water is safe and desirable and why bottled water is unnecessary. |
| Charlottetown, PEI | Canada | Mayor Clifford Lee and the Charlottetown City Council decided to stop buying bottled water in 2007. |
| Town of The Blue Mountains, ON
| Canada | Motion to ban bottled water at town events and meetings “in the name of what is right and good for the environment” passed in October 2007. |
| Ottawa, ON | Canada | Councilor Diane Holmes wants to ban plastic water bottles at city headquarters, saying the city should do more to promote its great tap water. Chairman of Planning and Environment Committee Peter Hume agrees and will pursue ban. The environment committee is now hearing commentary and will likely present the idea to the council in December 2007. |
| Toronto, ON | Canada | Mayor David Miller serves jugs of tap water at council meetings and press conferences. City gave away 20,000 sports bottles bearing slogan, “Fill with Toronto’s High Quality Tap Water,” to residents in summer 2006. |
| Paris | France | Eau de Paris has promoted city water by handing out glass carafes for several years; they are now thought to be used in some 500 restaurants and 30,000 households in the city. Mayor Delanoë now serves only tap water at official city events. |
| Florence | Italy | City Council and other public offices offer only tap water. |
| Rome | Italy | City is promoting its tap water on grounds of quality and price. |
| Liverpool | U.K. | After spending £48,000 (~$98,700) on bottled water in 2006, the city council no longer offers it. |
States and Counties
| Location |
Country |
Description |
| California | U.S. | In October 2007 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill requiring water bottle labels to list the source of the water and contact information for the brand owner along with a way to request water quality information. Annual water vending machine license fees were quadrupled to $40. |
| Santa Clara County, CA | U.S. | After the League of Conservation Voters asked the 15 cities, 37 school districts, and recreation and water facilities to stop spending public funds on bottled water, the county’s Advisory Commission on Consumer Affairs and the Public Safety and Justice Committee forwarded the recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for consideration, which was still pending as of November 2007. |
| Cook County, IL | U.S. | In November 2007, county board approved resolution banning bottled water purchases with county funds or on forest preserve property as of February 2008. Commissioner Mike Quigley noted that the recent coverage of “bottled water backlash” inspired him to introduce the bill in September. The county had spent over $400,000 on bottled water annually. |
| Illinois | U.S. | Department of Central Management Services banned state agencies from using state funds to purchase bottled water, effective 16 November 2007. |
| Massachusetts | U.S. | Has attempted to expand state bottle bill to include noncarbonated beverage plastic containers, as well as to raise the 5¢ deposit to 10¢; proposal was put before public hearing on 31 October 2007 and is being reviewed in committee. |
| Frederick County, MD | U.S. | New policy states that county departments will not buy bottled water or polystyrene cups as part of an effort to reduce waste going to the landfill. |
| Maine | U.S. | After heavy campaigning by concerned citizens, legislature enacted a bill regulating commercial water extractions, with some standards for sustainability. |
| Michigan | U.S. | State Senator Mark Schauer has introduced legislation calling for a bottled water excise tax of 20¢ per gallon, which was in finance committee as of 3 December 2007. |
| Jackson County, MO | U.S. | As of January 2008 city departments are banned from buying bottled water for employees, purchases that had previously cost $30,000 a year. |
| New York State | U.S. | State Assemblyman Robert Sweeney sent a letter to Governor Eliot Spitzer in August 2007 asking him to stop “the purchase, use, distribution or sale of single-serving bottled water by the State” because of concerns about litter, energy, and climate. He encouraged the state to install new public water fountains and do more to maintain existing ones. |
| Oregon | U.S. | In June 2007, Governor Ted Kulongoski signed revised state bottle bill that expanded the existing drink container deposit to cover bottled water containers, motivated by environmental harm from waste created by product’s disposal. Revisions will take effect 1 January 2009. |
| New South Wales | Australia | In November 2007 the Department of Environment and Climate Change informed the 4,000 staff members in 120 offices of Australia’s most populous state that bottled water would no longer be provided. |
| Cornwall County | Australia | Removed plastic water coolers from all Council premises in November 2006, except those where tap water supplies were not available. |
| Stroud District, Gloucestershire County
| Australia | Councilor Philip Booth is calling for a bottled water ban in the district, citing the “mountains of plastic” created by the bottles. |
National Governments
| U.S. City |
Description |
| Denmark | Potential legislation could expand bottle bill to make plastic water bottles liable to a deposit. |
| U.K. | Government Agencies Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department of Transport serve tap water in refillable containers. The Treasury no longer offers bottled water at official functions, and the Food Standards Agency provides tap water on request for all meetings and can provide mains-fed water bottled in reusable bottles on premises with on-site carbonation facility. |
| Green Party, U.K. | Member of Parliament Jenny Jones is leading a campaign to encourage people to ask for tap in pubs and restaurants for environmental reasons. |
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