You better fill up your canteen before going into town.
"Concord girds for ban on single-serving water bottles; Law goes in effect Tuesday; opponents gear up for a fight" by Jennifer Fenn Lefferts |
Globe Correspondent, December 30, 2012
Single-serving plastic water bottles will soon be stripped from the
shelves of stores, restaurants, and vending machines in Concord as
businesses prepare for the town’s ban on the sale of such containers to take effect Tuesday.
With its Town Meeting vote last spring, Concord apparently became the
first community in the nation to outlaw the bottles in an effort to
improve the environment. But opposition is mounting among some
residents, business owners, and the bottled water industry.
Aren't they recyclable? They already make me put out a bin for collection on trash day.
Related: Concord bans water in plastic bottles
Some residents are preparing to submit a citizen’s petition for the
upcoming Town Meeting in April that would seek to overturn the bylaw.
Good luck, folks.
“As a mother of three young kids, I’m in favor of banning assault
weapons and school violence, not harmless water,’’ said Adriana
Cohen, who lives in town and is part of Concord Residents for Consumer
Choice. “It’s a no-brainer our country needs to focus on the most
important priorities facing humanity and that is the health and safety
of our children.’’
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Town Manager Chris Whelan said that starting in January, employees from the town’s health
department will visit all businesses to make sure they are complying
with the new bylaw, will make periodic checks, and will respond to
complaints....
They don't have anything better to do?
Resident Jill Appel, one of the bylaw’s proponents, said she thinks the ban will survive the various challenges.
“For the past two years, the bottled water industry has been paying
people to walk our streets and do direct mailings to fight the choice
our community has made,’’ she said. “They’re afraid of what we’ve done
and that the word will spread. We really wish they would get out of our
town. This is clearly a campaign to intimidate the citizens of
Concord.’’
Resident Jean Hill first proposed the ban at Town Meeting in 2010.
Related: Boston Globe Bottle of Water
While residents supported it, it was shot down by the state attorney
general’s office, which found that it was not written as a valid bylaw.
Hill revised and resubmitted it in 2011, but it was defeated by seven
votes. The ban came up for another vote in April 2012 and passed 403 to
364. The attorney general’s office signed off on the wording in
September 2012.
See: Concord bottled water ban OK’d
“Bottled water is bad for the environment, our health, and our public
water systems,’’ Hill said in a statement. “Concord’s decision to go
bottled water free is a great example of how communities can promote our
most essential public service: the tap.”
What, with all the pollution, chemicals, and drugs in it (or worse)?
I suppose everything is fine as long as you can't light it on fire.
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Ann Davidson, 82, wrote [that] “The ban itself lacks foresight and ignores the health
concerns of many residents.’’
If you want to see her story go here
I sure as hell hope no pipes break.
Also see: Concord bottled water ban is all wet
Smells like urine to me.
Maybe I'll just have a beer.
