Mayor says no to bottled H2O

Bottled-water manufacturers are seething this month after a recent executive order by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to eliminate purchases of the plastic containers by city and county departments.

The International Bottled Water Association decried the move, claiming plastic bottles are among the most recycled packaging in the country. But Newsom countered his critics, saying it takes more than 47 million gallons of oil each year to produce the amount of containers used by Americans. Further, more than 1 billion plastic containers end up in California’s landfills annually.

The ban reportedly will be phased in over the next several months, ending in December, when all city departments and agencies will be expected to have bottle-less water dispensers.