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The highland town of Bundanoon has become the first town in Australia to impose a ban on commercially bottled water. The decision came shortly after the state of New South Wales passed a boycott of their own on bottled water.
The decision was made in Bundanoon Memorial Hall two nights ago where 400 of the locals gathered to vote, the biggest turn out for a vote yet. Suffice to say the majority was for the ban as there were only two votes against. Businesses around the small town were unanimous in agreeing with the new sanction. The election was championed by local business man and head of the 'Bundy on Tap' program, Huw Kingston. The motivation behind the ban is to reduce the carbon footprint left by the bottled water industry. Bottling and transportation is said to be major contirbutors to CO2 emmissions and the sleepy town of Bundanoon wants to do their part to help curb the problem. A 600ml plastic bottle for example uses about 200ml of oil to produce. This doesn't include the energy used to transport the bottles and that required to destroy/recycle the bottle. The 'Bundy on Tap' program is their alternative. Free water fountains that are installed all around the little village to ensure residents and visiting tourists never go thirsty. Residents of the town commented that they hope to be the catalyst of change to a much larger movement. Whether these 400 people can trigger something off is yet to be seen. A major move like this comes will of course be accompanied with controversy as well. Head of the Australasian Bottled Water Institute, Geoff Parker, conveyed his disappointment over the new actions and commented that the move restricts consumer choice. "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 said according to the Daily Telegraph. So what is next on the list?
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