Weavers Way should stop selling single-use plastic water bottles immediately. They harm the environment, poison the oceans, consume fossil fuels and are an example of consumerism run amuck. If cities like Concord, MA, and San Francisco can ban the sale of single-use plastic bottles, certainly Weavers Way can do it. There is a national campaign to stop using single-use bottles where other water is available. The campaign is called “Think Outside the Bottle.”

The argument that since people buy lots of water bottles we should let the people decide is foolish, dangerous and missing the point. The Co-op does have principles and not harming the earth is an important one. Bottled water harms communities that have their ground water pumped out. The plastic-bottle industry supports the continued extraction of fossil fuels from the earth, endangering our present climate and destroying our future. The argument that people will go elsewhere if they want bottled water is only partially true. They will also start changing their habits if alternatives are available.

One solution is simple. Install a filtered-water fountain in each Weavers Way and sell refillable bottles. This will cost some money, but the mission to help the planet is worth it. Water is life, as they say, and should be free to everyone. Standing in the face of market forces that want to destroy our planet should be on the minds of everyone who shops at the Co-op. The profit of the Co-op should not be at the expense of destroying our beautiful earth and the lives of our children. 

We can do it. It is our responsibility.

— Richard Metz