HOST:
The country town of Bundanoon in New South Wales, Australia, has a population of 2,500 eco-conscious citizens. The small town won admiration and unprecedented media coverage the world over when it declared itself bottled water-free. Bottled water is no longer sold in shops, and the residents have access to free and safe drinking water for refilling their own containers. What do the locals think of this change?

Janet (f):
I think it’s a wonderful idea. It’s really raising the environmental awareness for not just Bundanoon, but for really the whole of Australia. And everyone’s 100% behind it in the town.

Joan (f):  
People are becoming aware that it’s necessary. There are immense amounts of plastic collecting in a certain area in the Pacific.  

HOST:
In Australia the annual consumption of bottled water is about 600 million liters. To produce this amount of bottled water, the industry uses approximately 1 billion liters of water. Plus, at least 120 million liters of oil every year are used to manufacture and distribute bottled water in Australia. Bottled water therefore has a much higher carbon footprint – more than 300 times larger per liter – than tap water! Recognizing the high
environmental costs of bottled water, Bundanoon businesses and residents voluntarily agreed to ban pre-packaged single-use bottled water from their town.

By some weeks later, the town had officially launched its alternatives to bottled water. The initiative, called “Bundy-On-Tap,” led to Bundanoon becoming Australia’s first “Bottled Water-Free Town.”  Alternatives include public water stations providing free filtered water to residents and visitors, while local businesses
sell reusable drink bottles and chilled filtered tap water.