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"In the era of hyper hygiene, for a lot of people, that's a barrier," Vandenbergh said. University officials have estimated the busiest tap replaces the equivalent of 35,000 plastic bottles a month. Chiu's ordinance calls plastic water bottles "bad for the environment," unnecessarily taking up landfill space and causing greenhouse gas emissions when cheap tap water is available. San Francisco city departments have been barred from buying plastic water bottles since 2007. Chiu said he considered other aggressive measures to curb the bottle, including a fee and an outright ban. The proposed ordinance is less severe and is meant to raise awareness about drinking tap water as an alternative, he said. Environmental groups are supportive of efforts to wean San Franciscans from plastic water bottles. "San Francisco has among the best drinking water in country. It's ridiculous that people would go out and spend their now very limited dollars to buy bottled water," said Mae Wu, an attorney with the National Resources Defense Council. Chris Hogan, an International Bottled Water Association spokesman, said his industry contributes a small fraction of worldwide energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. He welcomed efforts to encourage drinking tap water, but said they don't require demonizing bottled water. "When you make the argument to discourage people from drinking bottled water, you are removing the healthiest option when it comes to choosing a bottled beverage," Hogan said. Chiu introduced the ordinance at a board of supervisors meeting on June 26. It is expected to go before the supervisors' Land Use and Economic Development Committee in September and if it passes, on to the full board of supervisors.
[Associated
Press;
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