Water & Air – Filter Systems News

As you may recall, in April of last year, the town of Concord, Massachusetts banned the sale of bottled water, making international headlines as the first town in the United States, and maybe even the world, to do so. The ban was set to go into effect in January of this year. However, voters at the annual town meeting, this week, rejected the ban, passing instead a proposal that would educate citizens about bottled water’s environmental impacts. It’s interesting that the vote took place at the beginning of this year’s National Drinking Water Week.

The most probable reason for the ban’s rejection was the citizens’ right to choose bottled water over tap, which is not surprising, considering that Concord is known for being the host of the first battle of the American Revolution. Ironically, however, the voter turnout was very small. Out of the town’s 17,000 citizens, only 537 residents showed up to vote on the issue, which is evidence of the town’s apathy toward both environmentalism and liberty.

Either way, 83-year-old Jean Hill is not giving up. She filed the petition to ban last year, and claims that she’ll be back next year, as well.

By now, it’s clear that we at Filters Fast prefer filtered tap water over bottled water. However, we are also not convinced that an all-out ban is the ultimate solution. In general, most people want to protect their freedom to choose. We have written about the issue of banning bottled water in universities, and this is one of the major reasons why many schools have voted against a ban. What do you think? Should towns and cities ban the sale of bottled water?

The University of Canberra is the first Australian university to ban the sale of bottled water on its campus, according to a blog post by Stephen Parker, the school’s vice chancellor. The school plans to stop selling bottled water on campus by World Water Day, which is March 22 of this year.

Many schools in the United States and Canada have undertaken similar bottled water bans, and even more schools have considered such a ban. Of course, if a university or college bans bottled water, they should make sure that they have a plan in place to provide clean water to students.

The University of Canberra did that and then some.

The university has installed water bubblers and water refill stations throughout the campus so that its students have access to clean, filtered water. And, unlike bottled water, this water doesn’t cost students a thing.

But the University of Canberra didn’t stop there. They also had Water Vend machines installed. These machines provide “flash-chilled” filtered tap water, which students may have still, sparkling or even flavored. Sigg also supplied the school with reusable water bottles.

If your campus is considering a bottled water ban, you would do well to take a page out of the University of Canberra’s book. There is no point in even considering a ban on bottled water if you don’t have a clear alternative, as the University of Canberra clearly did.

When we last saw DePauw University (in early May), the Student Government had voted to ban the sale of bottled water on campus. But that wasn’t quite the end of the story. As of May 24, the sale of bottled water is officially banned, and filling stations have been installed with the start of this school year.

According to an article in The DePauw, there have been mixed reactions to the ban. The General Manager of Dining Services has said that the ban will be the “end of a money-maker” as students will no longer be able to purchase bottles of water. Tyler Hess, the leader of the movement, however, is elated. Tyler worked very hard to solve the problem of plastic bottle waste on campus, and has strongly believed since day one that an all-out ban was the only true solution. DePauw promotes the use of the new filling stations by providing all incoming freshmen with a reusable water bottle.

We at Filters Fast would like to congratulate DePauw University for their success so far. If you haven’t already, please check out our article, “Should Universities Ban Bottled Water,” and let us know what you think of a campus bottled water ban.

Vice President of Communications for the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), Tom Lauria, refutes the argument that bottled water should be banned in colleges and universities, in a response to our recent article on banning bottled water.

His response is published in a separate article, “Bottled Water Vs. Tap Water,” and in it, he presents his reaction to both sides of the debate.  Overall, it’s pretty clear that he’s against a bottled water ban.  While we at Filter’s Fast advocate filtering tap water over purchasing bottled water, we do believe that everyone should have a chance to express their views, so we hope you’ll take some time to read and take part in the debate as well.  Perhaps you have arguments for the other side – Tap Water Vs. Bottled Water?  E-mail selwa@filtersfast.com if you’d like to participate.

With all the recent buzz about the dangers of bottled water, we thought we’d look into the issue a bit more.  Within the last few years, we’ve found that there have been several campaigns on university campuses to ban the sale of plastic water bottles.  Many of these campaigns have resulted in successful bans, but the debate remains heated.  Should colleges and universities ban the sale of bottled water on campus? Strong arguments exist for both sides of the debate.  We have written an article entitled, “Should Universities Ban Bottled Water,” which lists the main reasons for and against a bottled water ban.  This list applies, not just to university campuses, but to any place that is or has been in the middle of a campaign to ban bottled water.

Can you think of any arguments that are not included in this list?  Let us know what you think, and don’t forget to cast your vote in our most recent poll on this issue.