A rural Australian town has voted to ban the sale of bottled water, making it the first in the country--and maybe the world--to do so.
The residents of Bundanoon are part of a growing backlash against bottled water, which contributes to landfill waste and requires energy to produce, without necessarily offering better quality than is available at the tap for much less cost.
In the U.S., the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on "Regulation of Bottled Water" on Wednesday, to examine current federal regulation of bottled water. Following the hearing, the subcommittee sent letters to 13 bottled water companies asking for further information about their sources and bottling practices.
At least 60 cities in the United States and a handful of others in Canada and the United Kingdom have agreed to stop spending taxpayer dollars on bottled water, which is often consumed during city meetings.
Jon Dee, who helped spearhead the "Bundy on Tap" campaign in Bundanoon, said: "It's time for people to realize they're being conned by the bottled water industry."
Read Associated Press coverage at the link below.
