The Capital Gazette - State government ends use of bottled water

By Pamela Wood

October 1, 2011

The state is kicking its bottled water habit.

Gov. Martin O'Malley announced yesterday that he plans to eliminate taxpayer spending on plastic-wrapped H2O.

The decision came after the state was pressured by Corporate Accountability International, a national group that's trying to get people to switch from bottled water to tap water.

The group estimated the state government spends at least $200,000 a year on bottled water.

"It's kind of a win-win situation when you stop pouring plastic into landfills and taxpayer dollars down the drain," said John Stewart, an organizer of the group's "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign.

Stewart argues that Americans should be drinking regulated, government-supplied tap water, instead of expensive, corporate bottled water that's loosely regulated.

And governments themselves - who operate water treatment plants and water supply systems - should use their own product, he said.

"It's like a chef who won't eat his own food," Stewart said.

Maryland is the sixth state on the no-bottle bandwagon, joining Connecticut, Vermont, New York, Colorado and Illinois.

Locally, Montgomery County, Frederick County and the town of Takoma Park also have pledged to go bottle-free.

"Water is a public good," Stewart said. "It's a human right. When it's treated as a commodity, it's bad for the environment and it's bad for our democracy and public health."

Details of how exactly the state government will wean itself off bottled water weren't immediately available.

The state's Green Purchasing Committee made the decision to nix bottled water.

In a statement, O'Malley praised the decision as a way "to improve our environment and cut costs at the same time."

Click here to read the article in The Capital Gazette.

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