Green Bugs

The Business Times newspaper has reported a great initiative from Bundanoon in the south-west region of Sydney Australia, which is set to be the first town to ban bottled water in an effort to reduce their environmental impact.

Heading the campaign, Huw Kingston confirmed that the new proposal recently discussed at a public meeting, is backed by local retailers and would aim to switch the sale of delivered commercial bottled water for local filtered spring water packaged in reusable bottles. He also declared that they do not wish to save the world or ban the sale of bottled water everywhere; they are just trying to ensure the sustainability of their town.

Mr Kingston also added that another motivation behind this green momentum is an ongoing battle with Sydney-based company Norlex Holdings Pty Ltd who planned to extract water from a local reservoir which would then, after being delivered by truck, be bottled in the city. Their project has been turned down by the authorities and Norlex is now appealing against the decision.

Bottled water is popular, with a 10 per cent sales growth on the previous year. According to Peter Stewart, the local newspaper store owner, he would lose an estimated A$1,600 a year if he stopped selling bottled water. However, in Bundanoon, with only 40 per cent of bottles sold recycled, the damage to the environment is far too important for apathy.

The water bottles production process is extremely harmful to the environment. This is mainly due to the fossil fuels needed to heat the raw plastic before the bottle moulding. The extra packaging, often plastic wrap and cardboard, is adding to the problem along with their transportation, burning more fossil fuel. After use, if not recycled, the bottles then pollute landfills for several hundred years and will generate harmful gases as they disintegrate, contributing to climate change.

While bottled water certainly has its appeal as a portable source of rehydration, the outstanding negative impact on the environment far outweighs the perceived health and taste benefits. Moreover, these concerns can easily be sorted with a home filtration system, which is believed to improve the taste and quality.  It is then recommended that the purified tap water should not be kept in disposable plastic bottles as they may leach toxic chemicals into the water as they degrade.

The water industry has a major carbon footprint, releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, 60,000 metric tons in 2006 according to a study by the Australian state government. The increased awareness about environmental issues has encouraged people to take action.

In 2003 the Australian war on plastic started in Coles Bay (Tasmania), where offering plastic bags was banned in stores, this policy is now carried on with a state wide ban in South Australia. In September, if the community supports the proposal, Bundanoon could join them and ban the sale of commercial bottled water.