W. Dundee wants residents to dump plastic water bottles

West Dundee village officials want residents to top up with tap water instead of the bottled kind to help the environment and the village's bottom line.

Trustees are considering a program to educate residents on the benefits of reusable drinking vessels to reduce the use of disposable plastic bottles.

Trustees on Monday discussed the Think Global/Drink Local campaign, a green initiative that board members say is in step with the village's commitment to conservation and desire to become more environmentally friendly.

"We want to promote the idea that the ubiquitous plastic water bottles are expensive to produce and take years to break down," Village President Larry Keller said. "That really works against our ecological future."

Filling up water bottles with locally produced tap water would also be a financial benefit for the village's water and sewer fund, Keller said,

It is estimated manufacturing plastic water bottles requires 47 million gallons of oil each year. Although petroleum-based PET bottles are recyclable, the Container Recycling Institutes estimates only 21 percent of plastic bottles are recycled in the United States. The rest are dumped in landfills and can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade.

The board directed staff members to explore potential grants to offset the costs of purchasing aluminum water bottles. Public Works Direct Richard Babica said a grant through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Bureau of Energy and Recycling could cover up to 80 percent of the proposed expense.

Initially, village staff suggested distributing each single-family home in the village, about 1,500, with an aluminum water bottle along with informational material on the benefits of reusable water bottles, the negatives of single-use plastic bottles and other eco-friendly ideas.

But a $6,000 price tag to purchase the aluminum water bottles, which also includes the printing of the village logo and a "no plastic bottles" image, caused trustees to consider a more conservative program.

Trustee Tom Price, who questioned the program's success, suggested the village provide residents a coupon for one complimentary aluminum water bottle available from village hall, with additional bottles available for purchase.

"There are a lot of people who don't think (tap) water tastes very good," Price said. "We will still have that issue to deal with ... I don't know that we should be spending $6000 on something that may not accomplish the goal."