Take Back the Tap: Vancouver woman launches petition to ban bottled water

WATCH: A Vancouver woman has started a campaign to ban the sale of plastic water bottles.

A Vancouver woman hopes to ban all bottled water in the city.

Twenty-five-year-old nurse Kelly Newton says she wants to see a law that would ban the sale of non-sparkling, unflavored drinking water in single-serving polyethylene terephthalate bottles of one litre or less in the city of Vancouver.

“I am trying to draw attention that bottled water is detrimental to the environment,” says Newton. “We have such amazing tap water here in Vancouver, so I am trying to support it as much as I can.”

In her petition, Newton points out that plastic bottles are not sustainable and toxic, clogging Metro Vancouver landfills. On top of that, bottled water is sold at a significant markup, says Newton, as opposed to the virtually free water that comes from the tap.

“When you ditch disposable bottled water, you save money, live healthier, and join a movement for global sustainability,” says Newton’s petition.

Newton says she was surprised to see her Take Back the Tap petition go viral. At the time of publishing, it has already garnered over 5,000 signatures.

She says she reached out to Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson’s office and the Vancouver Park Board, hoping to speak about her campaign at their next meeting.

“I think one day we will look back in Vancouver and think it is so crazy we bottled our water,” adds Newton.