The plastic pollution pandemic is getting out of hand. Let’s get Santa Clara County, California, to ban the sale of single-use plastic water bottles. Our region has already started phasing out plastics by first banning plastic bags. It will be hard to ban all single-use plastics right now, but single-use plastic water bottles have alternatives. This will initially be inconvenient; however, places like Concord, Massachusetts, San Francisco International Airport, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and Seattle University have successfully banned single-use plastic water bottles, and we can too!

Plastic production and distribution emit greenhouse gasses, and manufacturers are depleting aquifers. 32% of plastic ends up littering the environment, 40% goes into landfills, 14% is incinerated, and only 14% is recycled. The plastic that doesn’t get recycled flows into streams, lakes, and oceans and turns into smaller and smaller pieces, called microplastics, and degrade over hundreds of years. Microplastics have toxins and are everywhere, including the air and our drinking water. Marine life mistakes plastic for prey and ends up dying due to starvation. 

As a region, we are known for being forward thinkers, so let’s also demonstrate that for this issue. There are alternatives for using single-use plastic water bottles in different situations. We surveyed 266 people, and these are the most common uses of these bottles. Here is how we can eliminate those uses:

For travel, take reusable water bottles filled with tap water. According to many sources, municipal tap water is as safe, or sometimes even safer than bottled water. 

At picnics and parties, use a reusable water jug to fill cups. 

At home, work, school, and for workouts, use a reusable bottle wherever you go. Companies can be encouraged to give away branded reusable water bottles to their employees or at events. 

For emergencies, each city can distribute, for free, three gallons per person every year. According to many sources, one gallon a day per person for three days is the suggested amount of water to have available for emergencies. The approximate cost of this program would be 6 million dollars per year, compared to the tens of millions of dollars spent on these products by people in Santa Clara County.

If a doctor recommends a pregnant woman or if they choose to drink bottled water due to fluoridation concerns, just as for emergencies, the county should provide them. In this case, it can be done at a reasonable price.

The ban can be implemented in phases by first banning bottles under 32 ounces (approximately 1 liter) now and bottles larger than that in another year.

​PLEASE help get the word out and share this campaign on your social media platforms. Let’s save our health and the environment together. For more information, check out EndPlasticBottles.org.