The National Park Service has announced that within the next month, all bottled water sales will be stopped and "bring your own water bottle" will be the encouraged norm at Grand Canyon National Park.
As part of a major move to reduce the wasted stream that comes through the park, the National Park Service has moved to stop the sale of water. Currently 20% of the waste stream is represented just by plastic water bottles. In lieu of selling water, the park will offer extremely affordable ($1.99) reusable bottles that can be filled at any of the various free water stations that are now available at the park.
“It isn’t so much anti-water bottle as it is pro-conservation,” Steve Martin, former parks superintendent said to the Arizona Republic after the recent announcement. “There are many parts of the world where bottles are the only way to get good water to people, but when you have a choice to do something better, let’s do it.”
The good news is the National Park Service is helping to set a much needed trend to stop the sell of water in a country that can offer safe and drinkable water almost anywhere. We can hope that as sales of reusable water bottle increases, more US organizations and businesses will start their own self-imposed bans on bottled water.
Source: Time
Header Image: Klearchos Kapoutsis
