Plastic Water Bottles To Be Banned From Grand Canyon National Park

Here is something that in the near future will likely happen at all US National Parks:

Disposable plastic water bottles in shops, vending machines, hotels and grocery stores at Grand Canyon National Park will disappear early next year under a plan by park officials to ban the sale of them.

But first they’ll have to demonstrate they’ve met guidelines issued late Wednesday by the National Park Service that require a review of water availability, visitor health and safety, cost and benefits, and get the approval of the regional director. Grand Canyon spokeswoman Shannan Marcak said Thursday that the park believes it already is positioned to comply with the guidelines.

“We need to fully review it, and it takes a little time to figure out if we have all those things covered,” she said.

Park Service director Jon Jarvis nixed a bottle ban at Grand Canyon late last year just weeks before it was to be implemented and said the agency would develop a national policy. Former Grand Canyon Superintendent Steve Martin raised suspicions that the action was due to influence from the Coca-Cola Co. — a major water bottle distributor — but the Park Service and Coca-Cola denied that.  [Associated Press]

I can understand the reasoning for the ban considering the amount of water bottles I have seen left as litter at various National Parks.  When I hike I use a Camelbak and one reusable water bottle depending on the length of the hike and the need for additional water.  This is probably something that is going to annoy the public at first, but I think over time they will get used to it.