"Bottled water has a role to play in various parts of Australia and many parts of the world but we don't really need it as we have a wonderful municipal water supply," local businessman Huw Kingston, who led the campaign, told Reuters news agency.
"We're not a bunch of raving greenies but this is us showing we can work together as a community for sustainability."
The vote in Bundanoon prompted the premier of New South Wales state earlier this week to announce an immediate ban on state departments and agencies buying bottled water.
"Tap water isn't just better for the environment, it's better for your wallet - you can refill your drink bottle 1,350 times for the average cost of a bottle of spring water," Nathan Rees said.
Environmental groups like WWF have campaigned against bottled water, saying resources are wasted in bottling and transporting water which may be no safer or healthier than tap water while selling for up to a thousand times the price. But Geoff Parker, director of the Australasian Bottled Water Institute Inc, a group which represents the industry, said the bans were disappointing.
"The environmental footprint of one bottle of water of locally produced water would be much smaller than a tin of canned tomatoes imported from overseas, some imported cheese, or French champagne," he told Reuters. "We need to keep it in perspective."
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- retro_Syl
- added this
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Great news! I never did understand the whole bottled water craze. I mean why would anyone pay a couple of dollars for something they already have at home and only costs them about a nickel?
Way to go Bundanoon!
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I wish they would do that in my home town. We have some of the best water in the world here, but way too many people still see the need to buy bottles. The water's practically the same.
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i spent 30 bucks on a little filter thingy i screwed onto my tap and my water tastes better than most bottled water out there and i havent spent a cent on bottled water in over a year. Doing away with bottled water is not just enviro-friendly but makes a really really big impact on your wallet. I fail to comprehend how people do not understand this simple truth. get with the program guyses.
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- Sumbodyswatchin
- 4 months ago
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key word "sustainability" good job aussies!
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Much of the bottled water is filtered tap water. Like others, I have yet to figure out why people buy water when you can filter out the "pool" taste.
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the world should ban bottled water. Use a refillable bottle reduce reuse recycle the new three R's
