What Is the Externality Connected with Water Bottles?

The City of London, Ontario, has recently decided to halt the sale of water in individual plastic water bottles at city-owned and city-operated facilities. I am struggling to understand the rationale for this policy.

• Are plastic bottles more of a problem in landfill sites than any other garbage? First, I really doubt they are. But even if they are, why just water bottles? Why not other plastic bottles, too? And why not glass bottles? And if plastic bottles are more of a problem for landfill sites than any other garbage, why not impose a Pigouvian tax on the production of all plastic bottles, rather than try to ban the use of individual water bottles?
• Is it because plastic is produced from crude oil (and that is somehow bad?)? Again, why just water bottles? And why do prices not fully reflect the social costs of using oil to make plastic bottles? Unless the use of oil is somehow significantly under-priced, there is no externality involved with using oil to produce plastic bottles.
• As I wrote two years ago, unfiltered tap water is noticeably different from filtered water. Ever since the e coli water contamination in Walkerton, Ontario, killed seven people and seriously harmed many others, communities throughout Ontario and elsewhere have increased their use of chlorine in public water supplies to the point that the taste borders on being unacceptable. Tap water from drinking fountains is not "just as good" as bottled or filtered water.
• Using plastic bottles just seems so wasteful to some people. They think we should not use plastic once, as in individual water bottles, and then discard it. Quite frankly, I agree. I cannot bear the thought of paying so much for some filtered water, and I don't do it very often. Instead, I use stainless steel refillable bottles, which I fill with a concoction of filtered tap water, club soda, and a hint of lemon juice or Gatorade or something (We recently disposed of our bottles that contained BPA). But unless there are significant externalities involved, I am perfectly willing to let others spend their money on bottled water. Not using plastic single-use water bottles does not fall into the category of "merit goods", a concept which I find objectionable in its own right.
• Nevertheless, there are times when re-hydration is important. If you don't want to drink pop, getting enough water from a drinking fountain is not always possible, desireable, or convenient. Buying a bottle of water from a variety store or vending machine is sometimes an optimal choice.

I hate to say it, but it looks to me as if the London City Council has been dominated by control freaks who want to tell others how to lead their lives. (See this and other recent postings at London Fog for more). Without adequate justifications other than the vague and empty, "it's good for the environment", this policy is totally unacceptable. Let us hope it doesn't spread.

Comments

[John B. Chilton]

Banning bottled water really raises my libertarian hackles.

If Professor Palmer asked me this question on an exam, thereby forcing me to create a story, I'd start with the transportation costs with it's fossil fuel associated pollution and trot out the missing Pigouvian tax. This begs the question of where the difference is between bottled water and fizzy-sugary drinks. Perhaps it's that colas may rely on _local_ bottling plants, mixing the syrup and fizz with _local_ water thereby avoiding long distance shipping.