Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson unabashedly shared his sentiments about bottled water: “Bottled water makes no sense, it's the greatest marketing scam of all time.” In an attempt to eliminate the cost and waste associated with this nonsensical product from Salt Lake City, Utah, Anderson has asked city employees to refrain from purchasing bottled water, and instead fill reusable bottles with tap water. 
Many other American cities have taken similar steps to keep the damaging effects of bottled water at bay. San Francisco is one such city. Due to the efforts of Mayor Gavin Newsom, the city government no longer purchases bottled water for state employees, saving San Francisco $500,000 a year.
Small town America is also taking responsibility for the messy state of the environment, as well as citizens, both young and old. Take historic Concord, Massachusetts, where the sale of bottled water is now illegal. 82 year old activist Jean Hill worked tirelessly to get this bill passed in Concord, lobbying neighbors and acquaintances for months to bring about the change. "All these discarded bottles are damaging our planet, causing clumps of garbage in the oceans that hurt fish, and are creating more pollution on our streets. We only have one planet and I just don't want to see it spoiled," said Hill.
Erik Olsen from the Natural Resources Defense Council also believes that bottled water is environmentally irresponsible. “It (the sale of bottled water) causes 60 million plastic bottles A DAY to be manufactured, transported and then disposed of in U.S. landfills. It’s killing our planet, and for no good reason.” On top of being damaging to our environment, bottled water is also expensive, with the lowliest of brands costing at least $1.00 for a half-liter bottle. However clever the marketing, most bottled water is simply rebottled tap water, and certainly not worth the selling price.
Here we have it: Bottled water is dirtying up our planet and thinning out our wallets, while providing hydration equal to that of tap water. Isn't it time to choose an Earth Friendly Bottled Water and eliminate the damaging plastic waste? Are you ready to jump on "ban the bottled water" bandwagon? If so, here are some great resources to check out:
Food And Water Watch