SUNDAY STAR, 27 September 2009

SYDNEY: An Australian town pulled all bottled water from its shelves and replaced it with refillable bottles in what is believed to be a world-first ban.Hundreds of people marched through the ‘ picturesque rural town of Bundanoon to mark the first day of its bottled water ban by unveiling a series of new public drinking fountains, campaign spokesman John Dee said yesterday.Shopkeepers ceremoniously removed the last bottles of water from their shelves and replaced them with reusable bottles that can be filled from fountains inside the town’s shops or at water stations in the street.”Every bottle today was taken off shelf and out of the fridges so you can only now buy refillable bottles in shops in Bundanoon,” Dee said.
The tiny town, two hours south of Sydney, voted in July to ban bottled water after a drinks company moved to tap into a local aquifer for its bottled water business.
“In the process of the campaign against that the local people became educated about the environmental impact of bottled water,” said Dee.
“A local retailer came up with this idea of a well.
“So, why don’t we do something about that and actually stop selling the bottled water and it got a favourable reaction,” he said.
Dee said the 2,000-person town had made international headlines with their bid, which he hoped would spur communities across the world to action. — AFP

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