To the Editor:
The Massachusetts chapter of the Sierra Club has been actively supporting efforts to reduce unnecessary plastic waste, protect human health and increase sustainability. Great Barrington has been a pioneer in addressing plastic pollution with its polystyrene and bag laws. Bottled water laws are a continuation of this campaign.
The proposed bylaw will benefit the health of consumers and environment of the town. Here is why we support it:
- Our country cannot afford to keep using fossil fuels to make single-use plastics.
- The carbon impact of bottled water is extremely high regardless of the packaging (including glass). The processing of the raw water, the packaging of the finished water and transportation of this heavy product all contribute to the high cost to the environment (and to consumers!).
- The recycling rate for plastic water bottles is very low (20–25 percent). The recycling cost for towns is high. Plastic bottles are not fully recycled by turning them into more bottles, but rather into unrecyclable products such as fleece. In any case, at 50 billion bottles per year (which represents more than 1 million per year for Great Barrington), there are simply too many to recycle.
- The Massachusetts Sierra Club works hard to eliminate harmful synthetic petrochemicals from the environment and to limit their exposure to people. Plastic water bottles and the plastic lining of boxed water are sources of toxic chemicals found as container components, undisclosed additives and contaminates.
- This bylaw will help reduce the permanent litter problem that stems from this enormous volume of waste. Plastic fragments (both solid and film) including bottle caps (from plastic bottles and boxed water) are killing countless marine animals and ruining our oceans with no solution and no end in sight.
Massachusetts has been leading the nation on the issues of public versus private bottled water. This bylaw will be a resounding endorsement of public water in Great Barrington. More importantly, the bylaw will help educate the public about this problem that was created only three decades ago by the beverage industry.
We urge the passage of a strong bottled water bylaw at Town Meeting.
Emily Norton
Boston
The writer is chapter director of the Massachusetts Sierra Club.
