What if you walked into a grocery store or bodega today and didn't see a single bottle of water on the shelves? Hard to imagine these days, right? That scene could become a reality, on June 1 when the Bigger Better Bottle Bill goes into effect here in New York. Last month, Governor David Paterson signed the bill into law. It requires all bottled water sold in the state to collect a 5-cent deposit like other bottled beverages, which should boost recycling rates. Bottles must also have a new UPC label unique to NY and manufactures don't think they'll be able to meet the June 1 deadline.
If the industry can't get the bar code on the bottle in time, stores won't stock water. It's that simple. So when you hit the corner deli on June 1, it might feel like you've stepped back in time to the early '80s--that was just before PET was created, providing the packaging that paved the way for bottled water to hit it big. Here's hoping we get to experience the '80s revival. We might even bust out our neon leggings and big hair to fill up our bottle at a Tap It location...maybe.
Photo by indesignguy from Flickr, used under Creative Commons Copyright.
awesome thats what I was thinking