For Earth Day, the National Park Service (NPS) released a status report on its Green Parks Plan. The report found parks have diverted 28 percent of municipal solid waste since 2007 thanks in part to a growing number of parks halting the sale of bottled water.
Parks are celebrating their progress with clean-ups and a "tap water challenge" at the Grand Canyon - a blind taste test for park-goers pitting bottled water against the tap. Volunteers organized additional challenges today at Liberty Bell Center, Golden Gate National Recreation Center, and in Seattle. The challenge helps to educate the public that the tap is more highly regulated than bottled water and far more eco-friendly.
The NPS Branch Chief of Sustainable Operations and Climate Change has noted how parks are forced to deal with the burden of bottled water waste with taxpayer dollars. And prior to phasing out bottled water last year, the Grand Canyon found plastic bottles accounted for 20 percent of its overall waste stream, or more than 500 tons of waste annually in just one of our national parks.
"Eliminating the sale of water in disposable packaging within Grand Canyon National Park is in the best interests of both park resources and park visitors," said Dave Uberuaga, superintendent, Grand Canyon National Park. "Grand Canyon's decision to think outside the bottle has helped clear a trail for fellow parks to follow."
Read on at:
http://eponline.com/articles/2013/04/22/national-parks-reduce-waste.aspx
