Buy Water Bottles Online

From CBS 42 Austin: Buying a plastic water bottle at Austin City Hall could be a thing of the past after a vote Thursday by council members.

The water that was once inside them quenched untold numbers of thirsty mouths. But plastic bottles that remain as refuse to go away. The petroleum-based products often end up as litter and landfill clutter.

Karly Jo Dixon at the Ecology Action of Texas Recycling depot in Downtown Austin says of the plastic bottles, “Most of them aren’t being recycled. They’re ending up in our landfill. They’re never going to bio-degrade in the landfill.”

Now, in an effort to go greener, Austin City Council is taking on the sometimes-vilified vessels.

“We need to set the example,” says Council member Lee Leffingwell, who in sponsoring a measure to be taken up by council May 22. The resolution would stop the purchase of plastic water bottles at City Hall. Leffingwell says the program could eventually expand to other city departments and venues.

Some eco-conscious Austinites who don’t exactly bottle up their resentment of the clear containers are drinking it up.

San Francisco and Seattle have already passed similar plastic water bottle bans.

“I hate ‘em,” exclaims John Hart back at the recycling center.

Proponents of the resolution say in the case of drinking water, going forward means going back to using cups to drink what is now award winning water from the tap.

“We have the second cleanest water in the United States. We should be proud of that,” says Dixon, referring to a Forbes.com report in April that listed Austin’s H2O as second cleanest in the nation.

San Francisco and Seattle have already passed similar bans.

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