By San Francisco is leading the fight for eco-friendly policies by becoming the first city to propose a limit on the use of plastic water bottles on public property.
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday to “begin phasing out the sale and distribution of water in single-use plastic bottles on city-owned or leased land next fall, and to ban future water bottle purchases with city funds,” according to Reuters.
Board President David Chiu, who introduced the measure, said that plastic water bottles take an enormous toll on the environment because it takes one thousand years for a typical plastic water bottle to biodegrade.
Close to 80 percent of all single-use water bottles used in the United States end up in a landfill, according to the Santa Clarita Valley Water District website.
The ban will target water bottles of up to 21 ounces and will take effect on Oct. 1. Certain exemptions will be made until 2016 for food trucks and outdoor events, which don’t have a water supply, according to San Jose Mercury News.
While the measure has been proposed and approved, it still needs to win approval on its second reading, and be signed by Mayor Ed Lee before going into effect.
Some students, like senior health care administration major Lora Poston, said they believe the ordinance’s passage may encourage other cities to follow suit as well.
“A lot of people take water bottles for granted, since they are all over the place,” Poston said. “If it gets approved in San Francisco, the ban will probably start trending in other cities.”
Junior kinesiology major Adriana Ramos said she agrees with Poston and hopes that the ban spreads to other cities, like Long Beach.
“If it works out, other cities will begin to implement similar policies to reduce waste,” Ramos said. “[Cal State Long Beach] already has refill stations all over the place, so we are already on our way.”
Junior civil engineering major Jose Castellanos said he doesn’t see a problem with the proposal.
“The water that comes out of the tap is perfectly fine, so people are wasting their money by buying bottled water,” Castellanos said. “ Whereas a gallon, you calculate your water bill and it’s like 5 cents.”
But some students, like junior construction management major Alex Portillo, said that the ban could make it more difficult for people to drink water on a regular basis.
“The world already has tons of pollution, so the measure might slightly help [the environment], but it would be worse for the public,” Portillo said.
The mayor will have the opportunity to approve or veto the ordinance after a second procedural vote next week, however, he will not be able to veto it if it is approved unanimously during the second reading, according to Reuters.
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