The City of Woodstock is turning Blue in an effort to curb the energy used by bottled water.
WOODSTOCK - The city of Woodstock is undergoing steps to turn into what is known as a "Blue Community".
In 2013, Robyn Hamelin presented her idea to the city of Woodstock to become a certified blue community. After research, the Woodstock Environmental Advisory Committee, or WEAC, has re-presented the idea to City Council with the hopes of curbing the energy consumption of plastic water bottles. WEAC hopes to help "recognize water as a human right," says spokesperson Chris Kennedy. The project also looks to eliminate the privatization of waste water treatment and water sales.
One stage of the program is to install water-bottle refilling stations in municipal buildings. Two have been installed in the Public Library and the Woodstock Arena. Each unit ranges from $1200-$1500 a unit, but helps to eliminate the plastic bottles that aren't being recycled properly. According to WEAC, filling a one litre bottle of water with tap water costs less than a penny, where as you pay upwards of a dollar to buy the same size bottle in a store.
A similar ban was implemented in London, after research showed that only 60% of water bottles were making it to the recycling facilities.
The implementation wouldn't begin until 2018, after all municipal buildings had a chance to honour and fulfill all vendor contracts already in effect.

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