Politics & Government

Fisette Kicks Off Campaign Against Bottled Water

Volunteers with Tap in Arlington are hosting their first event Monday.

Arlington County Board Vice Chairman Jay Fisette is taking his personal crusade against single-use plastic water bottles to the next level.

About 15 volunteers have banded together under the name Tap in Arlington. They meet monthly at Fisette's Ashton Heights home and have the ambitious goal of getting 10,000 Arlington residents to pledge, "I choose to drink tap water instead of purchasing single-use plastic water bottles."

"To get there, you need to educate people and you need to engage people. And that's what the group is trying to do," Fisette said.

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"We are hoping that many people will learn about and appreciate the really serious environmental consequences of the proliferation of these water bottles and choose not to purchase them. That doesn't mean we won't drink out of one once in a while. But hopefully people will make the choice to drink tap water."

Tap in Arlington is formally kicking off its "Say No to Bottled H2O" campaign at 7 p.m. Monday at George Mason University's Founder's Hall, 3351 N. Fairfax Drive between the Clarendon and Virginia Square Metro stations.

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The list of event sponsors has grown since it was announced earlier this month and includes Arlington County, Arlington Public Schools and several environmental groups and universities. Several will have tables and literature available at Monday's event.

Tap in Arlington's website cites statistics that indicate more than 1,000 single-use plastic water bottles are used per second in the United States, that about 70 percent of these bottles are not recycled and that about 700 years must pass before they start to decompose. The site says 17 million barrels of oil are used to produce bottled water each year, and bottled water costs more than 1,000 times that of tap water.

For Fisette, the argument makes not just environmental sense, but financial sense as well.

Arlington is in the business of providing clean water, after all. County residents consume about 28 million gallons of water on an average day, or as much as 40 million gallons on an extremely hot day.

In 2009, Fisette led the successful effort to prohibit the Arlington County manager from spending tax dollars on bottled water except under select circumstances. He reiterated his commitment to reducing the use of such plastic on New Year's Day.

"We're not talking about any ban," Fisette told Patch. "That's an important distinction … We don't have the authority to do that, and I don't have the interest to do it. This is about educating and voluntary action. This is asking people to change their behavior."

Monday's event features a screening of the documentary "Bag It," which will last about 45 minutes, and a question-and-answer session.

Fisette and Tap in Arlington also have put together a presentation to show to interested civic associations and other organizations. The Ashton Heights Civic Association already has him booked.

The group is planning another community event in early summer.


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