A student's perspective on the Bottled Water debate

My name is John Kacher, and I am currently a 15-year-old freshman at Concord-Carlisle High School. I live in Concord and have gone to school here since kindergarten. Although I am not eligible to vote, I am interested in the ongoing debate over Article 30.  

Article 30 will be presented at Concord’s 2013 town meeting on April 24. The Article’s motion states the following:“Repeal the ban that outlaws the sale of drinking water in single-serve plastic bottles that contain PET and is 1 liter and under.”  

When I first heard about the bottled water ban, I did not have an opinion but now as the issue is before the town again I feel that it is important to keep the ban and vote No on Article 30. I feel this is important for many reasons:

1. Concord’s water is extremely clean and in my opinion tastes great
2. A large amount of bottled water is not disposed of or recycled properly, taking a major toll on our environment
3. Concord has made water very accessible and affordable via the tap and fountains around town
4. Some of the plastic materials in bottles can be toxic and bad for your health
5. A lot of energy is used to make and transport plastic bottled water creating more pollution

There are many other reasons why the ban is beneficial to Concord. However, the claims from the campaign known as “Free the Water” on how the ban has a negative affect shocked me.

First, they claim, "The ban does not reduce plastic waste or help the environment.” This claim is a very bold statement to make when there is no local solid evidence to back it. I have a very hard time believing this when mass studies show that a large percentage of bottles end up in landfills, ponds, streams, rivers, lakes and forests. For a town known for its nature and historical preservation, I find it reasonable to ban bottled water in order to continue this unique preservation. I also feel that the bottled water ban does help the environment positively, and do not see a good reason to repeal it in that sense.

The claim I found to be the most absurd is: “The ban compromises our community’s health and safety and, worse, promotes unhealthy drink alternatives.” I know people can claim that, in the event that tap water is not accessible, it could become a safety concern. The Attorney General did a thorough review of this issue and it is addressed in part one section two of the bottled water bill, finding: “Sales occurring subsequent to a declaration of an emergency adversely affecting the availability and/or quality of drinking water to Concord residents by the Emergency Management Director or other duly-authorized Town, Commonwealth or United States official shall be exempt from this Bylaw until seven days after such declaration has ended.”

Concord’s selectmen, who are elected officials, have voted 4-1 recommending no action on Article 30 which would keep the bottled water ban in place. The Board of Health also voted to take no position on the article. One of the members of the Board of Health stated that they view “Article 30 as a political decision and lacks the core elements of a public health initiative." If the bottled water ban threatened our safety and health, then the board would have expressed its concern.

Another part of the claim that surprised me was that the ban promotes unhealthy drinking alternatives. I cannot speak for the entire town, but I know that just because I do not have local access to bottled water does not mean I will turn to unhealthy decisions like sugary drinks and sodas. In other words, the ban does not alter my diet or lifestyle in anyway.

Another ongoing argument is the fact that the ban supposedly “hurts local businesses and counters the idea of buying local.”

The group known as “Concord on Tap," which is a major supporter of the bottled water ban and is asking citizens to vote No on Article 30, includes on its website a long list of extremely important well respected local businesses, and town or community buildings that are working closely with concord on tap and the town to make sure the ban does not have a negative effect on the town. This long list shows that businesses are adapting well to the ban and that it is a step in the right direction. To view the full list, head over to ConcordOnTap.org.

The claim I found to be extremely hypocritical is, “The ban diverts community effort from initiatives that make a real difference, and instead consumes resources on an ineffective initiative.”

The fact that someone from “Free the Water” says that the bottled water ban doesn’t make a real difference is untrue. If the bottled water ban does not make a difference, then why should you bring it up a town meeting again and put in so much time and money into this “initiative”?

I was also shocked when they wrote on their website and in other places that the ban “consumes resources on an ineffective initiative.” Again if they mean by consumes resources that it takes a lot of energy and time to enforce this bylaw than why was that concern not raised by our town’s selectmen, who are again, elected officials? I also would like to point out that the Free the Water’s campaign is consuming resources with hundreds of bumper stickers, flyers, other literature, and yard signs. Concord on Tap or any other supporters of the ban are not littering our town with this type of campaigning.

The last claim they make is the most widely used and restated out of all of them: “The ban jeopardizes personal liberty by taking away our freedom of choice.”

I think the voters should be the judge of that claim. However, I will say this: How is the bottled water ban taking away freedom of choice? I mean, do you really have much choice when it comes to water anyway?

Well, if you think so much that there are differences between the many brands of bottled water and tap water, then the ban does not take away your freedom of choice; it simply asks that we think about using reusable water bottles instead of buying bottles filled with water that comes from outside Concord. May I remind the voters of Concord that the bottled water ban does not ban the sale of all water? It clearly bans the sale of single serve 1-liter plastic bottled water. Many brands of bottled water are still available to purchase in town.

Finally, in my opinoin, the Free the Water campaign is strongly linked to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA). IBWA hired a PR firm to gather signatures for Article 30 and had citizens bring it to our town selectmen to include it in Town Meeting. The IBWA is also strongly linked to all of the propaganda spread throughout our town, including free the water’s campaign logo of a Minuteman holding a bottle of water, which is co-opting one of our town’s historic landmarks. It would also appear that the IBWA is helping to pour money into this campaign. 

Concord on Tap is a local group of citizens started to pass the bottled water ban through old-fashioned grassroots campaigning. I also praise these citizens for working well with the town regarding the ban.

I strongly encourage Concord citizens to attend town meeting on Wednesday, April 24 and vote No on Article 30 to keep the bottled water ban. It is simply the right thing to do.

I have included some important links about the bottled water ban bel

(supporters of Bottled water ban)

www.concordontap.org

Official attorney general description of bottle water ban

Click here

Below is a list of businesses participating in the concord on tap initiative

Bedford Farms, Cheese Shop, Colonial Inn, Crosby's Marketplace, Dunkin' Donuts, Farfalle Italian Market & Cafe, Helen's Restaurant, Juju, La Provence, Main Streets Market and Cafe, New London Style Pizza, Lyn Evans Potpourri Designs, Sorrento's Brick Oven Pizzeria, Thoreauly Antiques, Vanderhoof Hardware, Club Car Cafe, Dabblers Hobbies + Cafe, Debra's Natural Gourmet, Dunkin' Donuts, Michael's Restaurant, Nashoba Brook Bakery, Nine Acre Farm Convenience, Ninety Nine Restaurant, Reasons to be Cheerful, Rossini's Pizzeria & Restaurant, Twin Seafood, Vincenzo's Ristorante

Some community buildings and fountains are also included

Concord Free Public Library, Concord Town House, First Parish in Concord, Hunt Recreation Center, Trinitarian Congregational Church, Concord Visitor Center, Emerson Field, Monument Square, Concord Council on Aging, Fowler Branch Library, Mini Park, Junction Park

Sincerely,

John Kacher
80 Hunters Ridge Road