permaculture

[John Schinnerer <eco_living@yahoo.com>]

Aloha,

> This is a good idea.  I wonder how this could
> somehow avoid using disposable bottles.
> Some stores around here are putting in
> "fill your own container sites" for only
> a quarter which Saves money and materials

This might be the best approach for the USA at present - don't provide
a container and people have to bring their own, so they're less likely
to use throwaways, I'd guess.  They might be less likely to use the
service, though, if the ubiquitous "more convenient" plastic throwaways
of bottled tap water are just inside the market door.

The system I like that's used in some European countries is reusable
glass bottles (for soda, beer, etc. - would work just fine with water
too).  That's *reused*, not recycled - cleaned/sterilized and back to
the bottling plants they go (they have somewhat standardized bottle
specs, heavier glass that can go 'round many many times). Fewer steps
and, I'm pretty sure, much less energy than recycling as we in the USA
know it.  It would be a fair bit of a cultural shift for USA; there
it's just normal.

> > How about collecting all of the rain water off of the roofs of the
> massive
> > warehouses and assembly plants used by industry.  Leases could be
> sold to
> > entrepreneurs who would collect, treat and bottle the water on
> site.  Maybe
> > We can get California to put it into legislation.


=====
John Schinnerer, MA
-------------------------
- Eco-Living -
Cultural & Ecological Designing
Food - Water - Shelter - Community - Technology
john@eco-living.net
http://eco-living.net

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