There's been a singular notion around New York City's government agencies recently, for the type of people who think about this sort of thing: How come NYC so encourages residents to drink tap water – which is among the cleanest in the country – while stocking its own offices with water coolers and bottles? For one, because they like to spend taxpayer dollars. And also, because they can. UNTIL NOW!
New York's City Council, which went through 6,000 bottles last year, will no longer stock bottled water; they're even replacing water coolers with jugs that use filtered tap water, rather than whatever those hunky guys in the delivery trucks carrying plastic containers on their shoulders have been serving us. The decision comes on the heels of trend stories like this one that claim there's a bigger push across America to start refilling bottles with tap water rather than grabbing a Voss every time thirst hits.
If true, this would very bad news for a company like Poland Spring, which has spent millions on its eco-friendly bottle redesign (to use less plastic!) and Fiji Water, which, despite killing the earth by burning fuel to ship water around the world, insists "every drop is green" and that, in fact, every drop is carbon negative. (It's a stretch, but leave it to a strong marketing effort to make the case.)
Back in the office, meanwhile, the City Council will make paper cups available to those wishing to drink from its new communal taps. Feel free to throw them in the trash after each use.
Editorial Director
I work for FIJI Water and would like to share a few thoughts. First, when you speak of “killing the earth,” keep in mind the two largest sources of global greenhouse gas emissions are power generation and deforestation. Deforestation causes twice the emissions of all the world’s cars, trucks and planes, and 96% of this deforestation is taking place in tropical countries like Fiji.
FIJI Water not only provides an economic development opportunity to Fiji that is far more sustainable than the alternatives (timber, agriculture), but has also partnered with Conservation International to save the Sovi Basin, the largest remaining rainforest in Fiji. The Sovi Basin sequesters the carbon equivalent of keeping over two million cars off the road every year. We are also investing in reforestation projects as part of our “carbon negative” commitment, which are intended to restore lost rainforest habitats in Fiji and improve quality of life for our neighbors there.
One last thought to put things in perspective…bottled water as a whole accounts for 0.33% of U.S. municipal solid waste, and FIJI Water accounts for less than 2% of that. So either “killing the earth” is a rather extreme statement on your part, or everything else that the Earth’s population is doing will end up “killing the universe” or at least the galaxy.