The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (May 2024) |
Bottled water bans have been proposed and enacted in several municipalities and campuses everywhere over such concerns as resource wastage, transportation emissions, plastic litter, and damage to affected aquifers.
The University of Leeds held a referendum on the sales of bottled water in 2008, becoming the first university in the United Kingdom to ban bottled still water from all their bars, cafes and shops.[1] The small town of Bundanoon, New South Wales (Australia) enacted such a ban in 2009 and was the first town to do so anywhere.[2] In 2009, Washington University in St. Louis became the first university in the United States to ban the sale of plastic, single-use water bottles.[3] In 2013 The University of Vermont (UVM) in Burlington became the first public college in the U.S. to enact such a ban. As of late 2016, 82 high schools, colleges and universities across the world have implemented bottled water bans on their campuses.[4] Municipalities have also banned bottled water from their facilities, such as the city of San Francisco, California.[5]