Apr 6, 2008

City hall may ban plastic bottles

By Will Oremus / Daily News Staff Writer

Following the lead of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Belmont Council Member Bill Dickenson wants to rid City Hall of plastic water bottles.

The bottles, which the city distributes at meetings and events and makes available to all its employees, would be replaced with water pitchers and perhaps drinking fountains. The aim is to spare the environment and save some money for the city.

"I've been born and raised knowing we've got the best water supply in the nation coming out of Hetch Hetchy" reservoir in the Sierra Nevada, Dickenson said. "When you look at water bottles, you've got the transportation, plus the energy to put them into production, from the plastic bottle to the plastic cap to the ink on the label."

The idea comes as Belmont is kicking off a 20-member citizens' Green Advisory Committee, which Dickenson chairs.

"I see this as a way to call attention to diversion and what we can do as a city to set an example," he said. "It's an easy conversation piece. People can look at that bottle in their hands and just mentally go through the process" of what went into its production.

Dickenson made it clear the bottle ban would be limited to City Hall, meaning it wouldn't directly affect city residents and businesses.

San Francisco has not bought bottled water since last June, when Mayor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order.

There are no executive orders in Belmont's city government, so Dickenson's idea will need the support of at least two others on the five-member City Council to move forward. It's on the agenda for discussion at Tuesday night's council meeting.



E-mail Will Oremus at woremus@dailynewsgroup.com.