As part of their effort to become the most sustainable city in the world, the City of Vancouver, BC has made a pledge to work towards ridding the city of bottled water. In April of last year the City Council voted to do everything they could to discourage it's bottled water consumption. The city actually phased out sales of bottled water in it's sports facilities that would be used for Winter Olympic events.
Unfortunately, the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee has control over the city facilities during the Olympics. The committee also has a relationship with Coca-Cola, purveyor of brands such as Dasani and Vitamin Water. So the rules have changed and Coca-Cola will sell an estimated 7 million drinks at the games.
While Coca-Cola insists they do their part for the environment, the effect of this many plastic bottles in one city will be enormous. An multi-national event like the Olympics needs to have higher standards when it comes to waste. This is especially true right after Copenhagen, where it was widely acknowledged that big environmental actions need to be taken as soon as possible.
photo credit: Uncleweed via flickr
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