Town Meeting Defeats Proposed Bottled-Water Ban

After 25 minutes of debate Wednesday night, Town Meeting members convincingly voted down a proposed bottled-water ban by voice vote.

The ban, Article 4 on the Special Town Meeting Warrant, would have outlawed the sale of single-serving water bottles in town, except in the event of an emergency.

Three Arlington High seniors, Amy Currul, Sonia Zacher and Marina Milan, collected enough signatures to put the ban to a vote. They said they pursued the ban for environmental reasons. Currul (pictured right) presented the article Wednesday.

“It’s not about taking away people’s liberties,” she said, “it’s about saving the planet.”

A couple Town Meeting members and the store manager at the local Stop & Shop spoke against the ban before debate was ceased and the vote taken.

“We need to change minds,” said Town Meeting member Sean Harrington, of Precinct 15, “not take away something because minds haven’t been changed yet.”

In mid-March, the Board of Selectmen applauded the teens’ efforts but ultimately took a recommended vote of no action on the ban. Town Meeting member Harry McCabe, of Precinct 21, attempted to resubmit the ban Wednesday as a substitute motion on behalf of the students. However, Town Meeting voted against substituting his motion – defeating the proposed ban.

The teenagers were again applauded for their efforts.

Concord, which became the first town in the country to ban bottled water last spring, upheld its ban Wednesday by a slim margin.

Did Town Meeting make the right call? Let us know by posting a comment below.

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Article 4, Bylaw Amendment, Sale of Drinking Water in Single-Serve PET Bottles

To see if the Town will vote to amend the Town Bylaws to prohibit the sale of non-sparkling, unflavored drinking water in single-serving polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles of 1 liter (34 ounces) or less in the Town of Arlington except in the event of an emergency; or take any action related thereto.

(Inserted at the request of Amy Currul and one hundred registered voters)