Municipality votes to turn on the tap

A broad-based coalition of organizations in Nova Scotia launched the ‘Campaign to Turn on the Tap and Ditch the Bottle’ recently by sending out a package of information to every municipal government in the province outlining the reasons for getting rid of bottled water.

The coalition hopes to convince municipalities and school boards that the sale and provision of bottled water in their facilities is a very ‘un-green’ and ‘un-economical’ thing to be doing.

The Municipality of Barrington spends approximately $100 each month for 20 jugs of water used in the municipal building and Barrington arena.

Clerk Brian Holland says tap water in the municipal building is tested on a regular basis and is safe to drink. A motion to switch from bottled water to tap water received unanimous approval at the last committee of the whole meeting. “It will save some money, plus it will cut back on plastic,” said warden Louise Halliday.

Some of the information supplied by the coalition states bottled water can cost as much as 10,000 times that of public water and that corporations are raking in huge profits for their shareholders from bottled water. They claim that the bottled water industry requires massive amounts of fossil fuels to manufacture, transport and dispose of bottled water.

The coalition is made up of the following organizations: Ecology Action Centre, CUPE Nova Scotia, The Council of Canadians, KAIROS Halifax, Polaris Institute, Canadian Federation of Students – Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Environmental Network, Oxfam Canada: Maritimes.