Some residents are preparing to submit a citizen's petition for the upcoming Town Meeting in April that would seek to overturn the bylaw.

"As a mother of three young kids, I'm in favor of banning assault weapons and school violence, not harmless water,'' said Adriana Cohen, who lives in town and is part of Concord Residents for Consumer Choice. "That's why I've proposed a bill to ban force in schools. From now on, our children will be inertialess and safe.''

Recycle?

Nah. Ban them.

I guess I applaud them for their realism. Lazy Americans don't want to recycle.

FatherChaos: Recycle?

Nah. Ban them.

I guess I applaud them for their realism. Lazy Americans don't want to recycle.

Michigan's 10 cent deposit law is by far the most successful recycling program in the country.  If you toss that can... someone will probably find it and grab the dime.

95.9% return rate.
source:
http://www.bottlebill.org/legislatio n/usa/michigan.htm
 

Just saying.

FatherChaos: Recycle?

Nah. Ban them.

I guess I applaud them for their realism. Lazy Americans don't want to recycle.

Said like a true enviroweenie commie. This is America, let the individual citizens decide for themselves whether or not to buy single serving bottles.

That are plenty of other stupid things about bottled water and problems inherent with it, but it's effing Sunday, I'm still hungover, and you know, do your own research.  Just don't buy Nestle/Ice Mountain if you live in Michigan especially.  kthxbye.

Ann Davidson, 82, sent a letter to the Board of Selectmen this month saying she has hemochromatosis, a disease that causes her body to absorb too much iron. She said she cannot eat or drink anything that contains large quantities of iron, such as tap water.

Oh I don't know,maybe you can buy a filter for your kitchen sink, utilize a reusable bottle and save a hell of a lot of money versus buying individual bottles of water? Or buy a Britta portable water bottle with the built in filter?

Ima4nic8or: This is America, let the individual citizens decide for themselves whether or not to buy single serving bottles.

This is where I say, "You can move to Somalia and buy all the bottled water you'd like".

Can I still sell homeopathic medicine in aqeuous carrier in bottles of one liter or smaller?

CaptSS: Ann Davidson, 82, sent a letter to the Board of Selectmen this month saying she has hemochromatosis, a disease that causes her body to absorb too much iron. She said she cannot eat or drink anything that contains large quantities of iron, such as tap water.

Oh I don't know,maybe you can buy a filter for your kitchen sink, utilize a reusable bottle and save a hell of a lot of money versus buying individual bottles of water? Or buy a Britta portable water bottle with the built in filter?

Or you could buy large bottles of water, apparently.

My Mom suddenly decided she didn't like tap water, and couldn't find a filter she liked.  I don't get it.  But she bought one gallon empty containers and goes to Meijer once a week and refills them at a Absopure machine.  29 cents for a gallon of filtered purified whatever water since she brings in her own containers.  You know, if you must buy water on a regular basis... I guess I can be okay with that.

Why is the target bottled water in particular? I suppose because there are tons of other means of getting water, but soda seems another obvious candidate with larger bottles, cans, and drink machines in most restaurants.

ZAZ: Can I still sell homeopathic medicine in aqeuous carrier in bottles of one liter or smaller?

Well played old chap.

Will we ever have enough laws?

CaptSS: Oh I don't know,maybe you can buy a filter for your kitchen sink, utilize a reusable bottle and save a hell of a lot of money versus buying individual bottles of water? Or buy a Britta portable water bottle with the built in filter?

Usually this is not more environmentally friendly than buying disposable bottles, due to the costs of manufacturing and washing reusables, etc.

BUT what actually makes sense from a policy point of view is to ban non-returnable disposable bottles and to make sure that returnables have a high enough reward factor.

Vangor: Why is the target bottled water in particular? I suppose because there are tons of other means of getting water, but soda seems another obvious candidate with larger bottles, cans, and drink machines in most restaurants.

Soda bottles have a 5 cent deposit. They usually get recycled.

The dihydrogen-monoxide-contained-in-highl y-polymerized-hydrocarbon-matrix -ban-heard-round-the-world?

Meh. Concord has done better.

"...and to drink I'd like a bottle of water."

"Sorry, we don't have bottles of water."

"No, just bring me out a coke."

RandomAxe: CaptSS: Oh I don't know,maybe you can buy a filter for your kitchen sink, utilize a reusable bottle and save a hell of a lot of money versus buying individual bottles of water? Or buy a Britta portable water bottle with the built in filter?

Usually this is not more environmentally friendly than buying disposable bottles, due to the costs of manufacturing and washing reusables, etc.

BUT what actually makes sense from a policy point of view is to ban non-returnable disposable bottles and to make sure that returnables have a high enough reward factor.

I'm not sure I buy that. A case o4 24 16.9 oz. bottles of water is $3.99. This is the equivalent of about 3 gallons of water. A one time purchase of a filtered bottle is $10, which is good for 40 gallons. So initially, the reusable bottle is the equivalent of 13 cases of bottled water or 312 throw away bottles. Then the next 40 gallons of filtered bottled water is $5 for the replacement filter. Again, 1 used filter to throw away versus 312 plastic bottles. The actual price of the tap water you would use is almost negligible. (My water rate in Dallas is $2.66 per 1,000 gallons of water.)

Vangor: Why is the target bottled water in particular?

If you're asking why was the bylaw proposed, presumably because that's what the voice of Gaia chose to whisper in some woman's ear.

If you're asking why it passed, a combination of "green" guilt, availability of subsitutes, and observations of "too much" use and/or litter. This was decided a vote. It doesn't have to make sense.

CaptSS: I'm not sure I buy that.

You're missing some of the energy costs, such as those involved in washing the bottle, and it's a mistake to assume that the visible costs (what you pay at the store, for instance) map to the actual costs, since they usually don't.

But this is pretty boring. Just google it if you're actually curious. I can't promise you'll find anything that will change your mind, and it's no big deal, but there's tons of stuff about this online. Some people love to argue about it, back and forth.

jaylectricity: Vangor: Why is the target bottled water in particular? I suppose because there are tons of other means of getting water, but soda seems another obvious candidate with larger bottles, cans, and drink machines in most restaurants.

Soda bottles have a 5 cent deposit. They usually get recycled.

The plastic ones do? Wasn't aware of that.

What will truckers pee in now?

Concord?

*THUNK!*

Great, we're becoming California East. I can't wait to go bankrupt because of ridiculous liberal legislation.

I'm for this in theory, but I can't very well carry a bottle of cold water around with me all day. When it hits 100F, if I can't buy a regular bottle of cold water I will probably go for soda or iced tea. Pretty sure I'm not the only one.

good start. next: yogurt containers, Lunchables (why the guvmint allows that to be sold is proof positive they hate you & your kids), coffee creamer bottle blah blah blah.
fark it. we have 8 or 9 trash cans. we're farkers & we care, gottdammit.

/ recycle till it hurts then recycle some more

Delay: The dihydrogen-monoxide-contained-in-highl y-polymerized-hydrocarbon-matrix -ban-heard-round-the-world?

Meh. Concord has done better.

I bet Lexington did it first

Sounds like sour grapes to me.

CaptSS: Ann Davidson, 82, sent a letter to the Board of Selectmen this month saying she has hemochromatosis, a disease that causes her body to absorb too much iron. She said she cannot eat or drink anything that contains large quantities of iron, such as tap water.

Oh I don't know,maybe you can buy a filter for your kitchen sink, utilize a reusable bottle and save a hell of a lot of money versus buying individual bottles of water? Or buy a Britta portable water bottle with the built in filter?

I don't like the whole "this" thing, but THIS.

It would cost money to do something significant to improve lives. Much better this way for these assholes.

I think they need to take a minute, man.

Concord is a very insular community. I noticed in the article, someone said they want the 'bottled water people out of town'. When I was moving to the area to work, the Town website states the following:

We may not provide what you'd call typical (or simple) visitor information. We're not here to encourage people to visit, but to educate them if they are planning to do so.Therefore, if you are looking for simple tourist information such as hours of musuems, where to eat...well, our site does NOT provide that.
We do have LOTS of information for you to THINK about in preparation for (or instead of) a visit here.
Why don't we provide simple tourist info? Well, that's just the kind of people we are. Doubt if that will change.
Oh, did we mention that eccentricity is something we take pride in here in Concord? Well, consider it mentioned..

http://www.concordma.com/visiting.htm l

Needless to say, I did not move into Concord, but lived in the town next door.

I guess they Thoreau things out in Concord?

Vangor: jaylectricity: Vangor: Why is the target bottled water in particular? I suppose because there are tons of other means of getting water, but soda seems another obvious candidate with larger bottles, cans, and drink machines in most restaurants.

Soda bottles have a 5 cent deposit. They usually get recycled.

The plastic ones do? Wasn't aware of that.

Plastic, glass, aluminum...all soda bottles. Also beer bottles. But not wine or liquor bottles.

I want to see a store in Concord switch the signage to indicate that the water bottles can no longer be sold so they are now to be rented/leased similar to beer kegs. The day before the ban a person could purchase a bottle of water for $.99. The day after the ban a person rents a plastic bottle for $.98 and pays a filling fee of $.01.

Benjimin_Dover: I want to see a store in Concord switch the signage to indicate that the water bottles can no longer be sold so they are now to be rented/leased similar to beer kegs. The day before the ban a person could purchase a bottle of water for $.99. The day after the ban a person rents a plastic bottle for $.98 and pays a filling fee of $.01.

And no penalty for a late return?

jaylectricity: Benjimin_Dover: I want to see a store in Concord switch the signage to indicate that the water bottles can no longer be sold so they are now to be rented/leased similar to beer kegs. The day before the ban a person could purchase a bottle of water for $.99. The day after the ban a person rents a plastic bottle for $.98 and pays a filling fee of $.01.

And no penalty for a late return?

The rental term is for 20 years. The late fee is one penny for each 100 years past due. What could legally be done?

Coastalgrl

"Concord is a very insular community."

This. On the surface it appears normal, but there is a very strong under current about keeping the commoners out. I grew up in Concord and it's a very interesting place. When they retired, my parents moved one town over into a completely different world where neighbors actually talk to one another.

jaylectricity: Vangor: jaylectricity: Vangor: Why is the target bottled water in particular? I suppose because there are tons of other means of getting water, but soda seems another obvious candidate with larger bottles, cans, and drink machines in most restaurants.

Soda bottles have a 5 cent deposit. They usually get recycled.

The plastic ones do? Wasn't aware of that.

Plastic, glass, aluminum...all soda bottles. Also beer bottles. But not wine or liquor bottles.

You are correct; never bothered to look at my bottles because this is Florida, and if you don't chuck every bit of trash out the window on the highway then you can geddout... sigh...

The rental term is for 20 years. The late fee is one penny for each 100 years past due. What could legally be done?

Judge: "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I instruct you that whether this transaction was a 'rental' or a 'sale' is for you to determine based on the evidence you have heard. The term in the contract, while instructive, is not conclusive."

Jury: "We find the defendant guilty."

Judge: "Thank you, you are excused. I sentence the defendant to be fed into a wood chipper."

Defense counsel: "I object, your honor! Capital punishment is illegal in Massachusetts!"

Judge: "I didn't sentence him to death. I sentenced him to chipping. It's possible your client will survive."

Defense counsel: "But that's a matter of form, not substance!"

Judge: "My point exactly."
Wood chipper: Whirr

ZAZ: The rental term is for 20 years. The late fee is one penny for each 100 years past due. What could legally be done?

Judge: "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I instruct you that whether this transaction was a 'rental' or a 'sale' is for you to determine based on the evidence you have heard. The term in the contract, while instructive, is not conclusive."

Jury: "We find the defendant guilty."

Judge: "Thank you, you are excused. I sentence the defendant to be fed into a wood chipper."

Defense counsel: "I object, your honor! Capital punishment is illegal in Massachusetts!"

Judge: "I didn't sentence him to death. I sentenced him to chipping. It's possible your client will survive."

Defense counsel: "But that's a matter of form, not substance!"

Judge: "My point exactly."
Wood chipper: Whirr

Gold.

"As a mother of three young kids, I'm in favor of banning assault weapons and school violence do-nothing, feel-good measures, not harmless water do-nothing, feel-good measures,'' said Adriana Cohen

FTFAccuracy. If there is one thing we Americans are great at, it's the laziest, least effective ways to put on a show of addressing perceived problems without actually doing anything meaningful to solve them.

StreetlightInTheGhetto: My Mom suddenly decided she didn't like tap water, and couldn't find a filter she liked.  I don't get it.  But she bought one gallon empty containers and goes to Meijer once a week and refills them at a Absopure machine.  29 cents for a gallon of filtered purified whatever water since she brings in her own containers.  You know, if you must buy water on a regular basis... I guess I can be okay with that.

Yeah, that's not really a bad price I suppose.

About 10 years ago some water salesman knocked on my door. He wanted to sell me a service whereby I would get a huge jug of water every week and to demonstrate how awesome his water was over the tap water he did a demonstration for me. He filled 2 glasses up - one from my tap and the other from his supply and stuck an electrode in it. My tap water turned all murky and disgusting while his still looked like pure water.

I ignored all the ways this supposed test could have been faked. I just thought 'what if it's real?' Am I going to stop bathing in the stuff? Brushing my teeth with it? Filling my cat's water dish with it?

If I had fallen for the sales pitch I would have been absolutely terrified of anything that came out of my tap and yet the city's water supply rating was pretty farking good.

It was a very interesting demonstration and it very well may have been faked, but the stuff that came out of my tap turned so gross that if I had believed in it I never would have taken a shower again. And the dude was just selling bottled water for drinking, not taking showers.

And the dude was very ticked off that after demonstrating his product against my tap water that I wasn't paying him any money. WTF, dude? You knocked on my door. I did you a favor by letting you do your demonstration. I did my neighbor's a favor by keeping him busy so he wouldn't knock on their doors.

I sort of like this city ordinance, but OTOH it's government sticking their nose where it doesn't belong. I'd be happier if they just stepped up public awareness campaign that the water that comes out of your tap is pretty much the same as the shiat you pay Coca Cola for. (Coca Cola being a major manufacturer of bottled water).

Water is pretty much water. The only reason to buy bottled water is convenience and the only reason you need that convenience is because you were too short-sighted or lazy to fill up a bottle before you left the house..;

ugh... not sure where all of you live, but the tap water in every town I've ever lived in is rife with Shiat... tastes like shiat, looks like shiat, smells like bleach washed shiat, and makes it so the whole family has to take GERD meds if we don't drink bottled water. I dig the filter or the mungo bottles, but I pay for tap water whether I use it or not (taxes) so clean it up nasty cities.