BUNDANOON could become the first Australian town to reject bottled still water if the community gets behind a campaign to convert residents and visitors to tap water.
The Bike Shoppe owner Huw Kingston has launched the “Bundy On Tap” campaign in response to the village’s long-running battle against Norlex plans to bottle Bundanoon groundwater.
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Mr Kingston hopes that businesses will stop selling bottled still water, instead offering customers a reusable “Bundy On Tap” drink container that can be refilled with tap water.
“Business is the key, but we have to make sure it’s done in such a way that it’s not detrimental to business,” he said.
“Businesses could sell the ‘Bundy on Tap’ bottle and have readily available water to fill it from.”
Mr Kingston said “Bundy On Tap” would need the whole-hearted supported of the village to succeed.
“We can be Australia’s almost first bottled-water-free town: It has to be everybody,” he said.
The “Bundy On Tap” committee, an off-shoot of “Don’t Bore Bundanoon”, will push for more bubblers around the village and encourage Wingecarribee Council to follow the lead of Ashfield, Manly and Blacktown Councils and ban bottled water from its functions.
Mr Kingston has already removed still bottled water from The Bike Shoppe, although the business still sells sparkling bottled water.
As organiser of the Highland Fling mountain bike marathon, Mr Kingston banned bottled water at the event and he hopes that other major events will follow suit.
Mr Kingston said the project was only in its early days but had already attracted interest from groups such as Bundanoon Transition Towns.
The Bundanoon Public School P&C has already stopped serving bottled water at school functions.
"I floated the idea last year in the Jordan's Crossing Gazette and got a big response," he said.
Mr Kingston said in addition to local concerns about the Norlex proposal, many people were concerned about the wider environmental impact of bottled water.
"The sale of still bottled water is a fantastic con job by the beverage industry," Mr Kingston said.
"Through a combination of fear marketing and trying to make it hip, they done a marketing job to convince people to spend $3.50 to buy essentially the water that comes out of a tap.
Mr Kingston said manufacturing and transporting plastic bottles uses oil and 80 per cent of bottles won't be recycled.
"Bundy On Tap" is already attracting media interest and Mr Kingston hopes that it could become a tourist drawcard for the village.
"This will be huge it if comes off in terms of publicity," Mr Kingston said.
"Businesses could end up doing more business, not less."
“BUNDY On Tap” co-ordinator Huw Kingston will be invited to speak to Wingecarribee councillors about his plan to have Bundanoon declared Australia’s first bottled still water free town.
Council’s environment and sustainability committee has commended the move to have residents and visitors replace bottled water with tap water in refillable “Bundy On Tap” flasks.
Mr Kingston has called on Council to ban bottled water from its functions and premises.
Members of the community can find out more about “Bundy On Tap” at a community meeting at Bundanoon Memorial Hall on Wednesday, July 8, from 7.30pm.
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