WC137 JulyAug 2024 - Magazine - Page 27
fees, but rather on producers as the most efficient system to get
their packaging back for recycling or reuse.”
Apart from recycling and waste management, our continued use of plastic drinking containers could ultimately impact
healthcare expenses as well. Earlier this year Columbia University released a study that found that bottled water can contain
hundreds of thousands of nanoplastics. These particles are small
enough to get into your bloodstream and invade individual
cells, contributing to health-related side effects that we are only
just beginning to understand.
To counter these rising costs and challenges, Wirsig says
Environment Defense has called for “an expanded ban on single
use plastics that includes beverage containers made out of plastics and takeout cups and lids,” such as the ones readily used by
coffee retailers.
One faraway place that tackled this challenge head on back
in 2016 was Freiburg, Germany, which came up with the idea
of the Freiburg Cup. To reduce costs associated with waste collection, recycling, and environmental pollution, the city came
up with a system whereby participating cafes and shops would
use the same refillable Freiburg cup. Residents would then pay a
one euro deposit fee for these cups, redeemable when returned.
The stores would then clean and redistribute them.
So how well has the Freiburg Cup been received? From an
initial 15 participants, two months after the program launch
60 stores were on board and that number has now ballooned
to more than 100. Opines Wirsig, it’s the kind of initiative that
“we absolutely should be doing” here in Canada. “It’s what we
call the industry standard container. And it’s what we already do
with beer.”
To the credit of cities like Charlottetown, they are doing
what they can to reduce single-use plastics by banning their use
where they have jurisdiction. Recalled mayor Brown, “a number
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
of years ago, city council voted to ban plastic
bottles at all municipal events and buildings.” And
to offset that demand, not unlike Vancouver’s temporary water station initiative, “we bring our water
buggy to major municipal events,” for the sake of
making potable water more readily available while
reducing dependence on water bottles.
If there is one positive to be gleaned from the
dual challenge of ensuring ready access to drinking
water in public places while wrestling with the cost
of plastic drinking containers, it’s this: a growing
number of community leaders across the country
now view drinking stations as a necessity rather
than a luxury.
“With broader scale city planning now taking
place, like the growth and development planning
(and) making master community plans (or) changes to neighborhoods… our department is linked
into those processes as well,” observed Becker.
Including, she emphasized, addressing the essential
need of “access to water.” And with that, the overarching goal of
making city life… more liveable.
Level or Flow
What type of
measurement are
you looking for?
dBi Modbus (dBi-M6)
TTFM 6.1 Transit-Time Flow Meter
Visit pulsarmeasurement.com
to see our complete line of 昀氀ow and level
instrumentation products.
WATER C AN ADA • JULY/AUGUS T 2024
27
