Posted on 02/07/2012 5:54:01 AM PST by SJackson
(Grand Canyon, AZ) - Grand Canyon National Park will eliminate the in-park sale of water packaged in individual disposable containers within 30 days under a plan approved Monday by National Park Service (NPS) Intermountain Regional (IMR) Director John Wessels. Free water stations are available throughout the park to allow visitors to fill reusable water bottles.
The park’s plan calls for the elimination of the sale of water packaged in individual disposable containers of less than one gallon, including plastic bottles and various types of boxes. The waste associated with disposable bottles comprises an estimated 20 percent of the park’s overall waste stream and 30 percent of the park’s recyclables.
Grand Canyon National Park’s plan was submitted and approved in accordance with the policy issued by NPS Director Jonathan B. Jarvis on December 14, 2011. Under the policy, parks are directed to implement a disposable plastic water bottle recycling and reduction policy, with an option to eliminate in-park sales – with the approval of the park’s regional director – following a thorough analysis of a variety of factors ranging from the cost to install water filling stations, to the cost and availability of BPA-free reusable containers, to potential effects on public safety.
Regional Director Wessels said, “Our parks should set the standard for resource protection and sustainability. Grand Canyon National Park has provided an excellent analysis of the impacts the elimination of bottled water would have, and has developed a well-thought-out plan for ensuring that the safety, needs and comfort of visitors continue to be met in the park," he said. "I feel confident that the impacts to park concessioners and partners have been given fair consideration and that this plan can be implemented with minimal impacts to the visiting public," Wessels added.
Grand Canyon National Park has experienced increasing amounts of litter associated with disposable plastic bottles along trails both on the rim and within the inner canyon, marring canyon viewpoints and visitor experiences.
“We want to minimize both the monetary and environmental costs associated with water packaged in disposable containers,” said Grand Canyon Superintendent Dave Uberuaga. “We are grateful to the Director for recognizing the need for service-wide guidance on this issue and for providing a thoughtful range of options.”
“A lot of careful thought went into this plan and its implementation,” said Director Jarvis. “I applaud Grand Canyon National Park for its efforts to reduce waste and the environmental impacts created by individually packaged water. This is another example of The National Park Service’s commitment to being an exemplar of the ways we can all reduce our imprint on the land as we embrace sustainable practices that will protect the parks for generations to come.”
Read more: KCSG Television - Grand Canyon National Park to Eliminate Sale of Water in Disposable Containers
If the park were privately operated, we wouldn’t have to worry if this decision made sense.
It seemed like the article was more concerned about landfill than litter. Nonetheless; how about this?
Sell bottled water to those who are unprepareed with a $5.00 deposit on the bottle. I guraantee that bottle will come back. If not today, then tomorrow.
I'm not seeing conspiracy here, just frustration at the amount of trash left around and the desire to do _something_ obvious & easy to at least reduce the problem a bit. "Stop selling disposable plastic bottles" is the first easy obvious step.
So be a capitalist and offer the NPS your solution: you'll operate the $0.50 refund plan, and give them a fair cut of the profits.
LL Bean sells quart Nalgene bottles for ten bucks. I imagine more cheaply-made refillable bottles will cost that much once the tourist-trap concessionare markup is applied.
So a family unaware of the ban on disposable bottles will be looking at ten dollars per liter instead of two to three bucks or so per liter for disposables. Which means a family won't be thinking about taking enough water for a hike, but what they can afford at ten dollars per pop.
Stupid. This does nothing to address bottles brought in from outside the park, and can't. It will end up causing some people to get dehydrated because of the cost per liter of a refillable bottle bought on the spot. Typical liberal shortsightedness, putting their liberal 'sustainability' concepts ahead of the well-being of individual humans.
You find those water bottles on the ground, in the bushes, everywhere up there.
Might not be a bad idea, since they can’t seem to get people to realize that the canyon is a place to be respected.
They aren’t taking the entire option away from the sight seers, just rearranging the options. Note that you can still purchase a water bottle for $1.99 and refill it as much as needed at the free refill stations.
•Grand Canyon souvenir water bottles cost as little as $1.99 and can be filled over and over again with FREE Grand Canyon spring water. When you refill a reusable water bottle, you save money!
I see typical liberal idiocy about sustainability here - from the article:
“A lot of careful thought went into this plan and its implementation,” said Director Jarvis. “I applaud Grand Canyon National Park for its efforts to reduce waste and the environmental impacts created by individually packaged water. This is another example of The National Park Service’s commitment to being an exemplar of the ways we can all reduce our imprint on the land as we embrace sustainable practices that will protect the parks for generations to come.”
‘I prefer the term “Conservation.”’
“Conservation” has the word ‘serve’ in it.
“Environmental” has the word ‘mental’ in it.
I’d rather serve than be a mental case!
I meant that the libby tree-huggers litter more than most others.
If I'm going to the Grand Canyon(or anywhere else) for a hike, I'm not going to count on them selling water at the location. I would bring my own.
As long as they have such an alternative, my initial objection of dehydration is withdrawn. I still see this as part of a larger liberal sustainability concept, as stated in the article. And you still have the issue of water bottles brought in from outside, so you are still going to have litter, and a two-dollar bottle is not going to hold up to repeated use without leaking, so I doubt it will suffer a much different fate than a disposable bottle.
The Grand Canyon is a tourist destination. It has to be able to cater to that mindset, as opposed to someone going on a hike through a remote part of the woods with no amenities at the trailhead.
The Feds should use the same programs they use in the parks along the Mexican border.
How do they get the illegals to pack out their trash?
I agree. Unfortunately the left has squeezed out conservatives from the environmental movement.
Once many conservatives were involved, but the official orgs. Coalesced with lefty groups and never endorsed environmental rep politicians.
You seem to be confusing the difference between a necessity and a luxury. I don't drink 3 gallons of water a day just to do my job. I also can give up bottled water if I lose my job. I'm one of those weird guys those, I buy a bottle of water and refill it until the cap threads start showing signs of some kind of life form growing. Even then, I might just bleach the lid.
The mule ride to Phantom Ranch includes a bota bag with the purchase.
Conservationist.
I am not an environmentalist - with the associated watermelon garbage - green on the outside and RED on the inside.
I am for conserving natural resources and natural spaces for the well being of humanity.
I do NOT think it was a coincidence that “Evian” spelled backwards is “Naive”
The French sense of humor, I presume...
(oh- it was proven that it is bottled from plain old tap water)
Buy a canteen !!!
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