Grand Canyon plastic water bottle ban is back on the table

By Laura Bly, USA TODAY

Barely a month after public outcry over news that a proposed ban on sales of disposable plastic water bottles in Grand Canyon National Park had been abruptly shelved following concerns by parks donor Coca-Cola, the ban is moving forward and could take effect in early 2012.

A National Park Service directive , issued Wednesday, will let parks halt plastic water bottle sales as long as a regional director signs off on a "rigorous impact analysis" of such factors as cost to concessionaires, signage directing visitors to filling stations, and the health implications of thirsty tourists who might drink from "surface water sources with potential exposure to disease."


http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2011/12/park-service-gives-green-light-to-grand-canyon-bottle-ban/585871/1

I wish all parks would ban that kind of stuff. It's really disappointing hiking the state parks in my home state of Texas and finding water bottles all over the place.

Whats wrong with water out of the tap?

Quote
qumqats
Whats wrong with water out of the tap?

It doesn't cost enough?

Did they install water taps on the Grand Canyon trails?

Quote
chicagocwright
Did they install water taps on the Grand Canyon trails?

Yes, they actually do have water taps on some of the trails.

Unfortunately, I could easily see such a ban at Grand Canyon National Park leading to even more deaths from dehydration and sun stroke.

It's hard enough now to convince some people to carry enough water while hiking up and down the Grand Canyon. Prohibiting disposable water bottles will probably result in some people carrying even less water than before, therefore more people dying.

The actual problem is littering. I don't think this is a wise solution – in regards to public health and safety – to the littering problem in such a hot and dry environment that the Grand Canyon can be in the summer months.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/21/2011 05:17PM by plawrence.

Quote
plawrence
Unfortunately, I could easily see such a ban at Grand Canyon National Park leading to even more deaths from dehydration and sun stroke.

That's the same thing I thought when I read this. While I, too, appreciate the problem they're trying to address, I think the approach is short-sighted. Maybe something like stiffer deposits (and an easy way to get the deposits back...something like refund stations at the top of the Bright Angel and other major trails and possibly at Indian Garden as well). Alternatively, much as I don't want to see trash cans along the trails, maybe some recycling bins along the trail sections that are most heavily littered now?

I don't know...having been disgusted by littering ever since I was a little kid (remember those Public Service Announcements that ran back in the 60's with an American Indian standing by the side of a highway with a tear in his eye as cars went by heaving garbage out the window? Well, even at 7 or 8 years old, those really spoke to me) I don't have a sense of what the trigger points are that have people decide "that's it, I'm dumping it here." It's easy to say they're selfish or lazy or just plain stupid but, even if the triggers do point to shortcomings in those areas, if there's a way to reduce the triggers, maybe you could make a significant dent in the problem.

I cringe even if I'm somewhere that doesn't recycle and I have to put recyclables in with the regular trash so asking me what the best solutions to littering are is perhaps not the best idea but I think this particular ban needs some more thought.

An odd thing is the ban is only for disposable water bottles. It doesn't ban at all the sale of soda pop and gatorade and other soft drinks that use disposable plastic bottles.

So not only will this ban have a limited impact about removing empty plastic bottles from the Grand Canyon, but it will probably also in encourage more people to drink beverages that contain very high amounts of sugar or HFCS, not a very healthy thing to encourage in the middle of an obesity epidemic that we are now experiencing worldwide.

---