Banning Bottled Water

[Alonso]

I drink bottled water pretty much daily. In this country tap water is supposed to be "drinkable" but it really contains a lot of heavy minerals. So we have to boil it if we want to drink water safely.

The there is bottled water, just S/1.00 (about US$0.30), and it even comes from the andes! As for the plastic bottles, there are many places in the city and in my school when you just drop your water bottle.

15 Kilograms of plastic bottles plus some textiles, make 1 blanket for poor families in eastern-friggin-cold Peru.

[H]

...citing 6 countries in the article hardly constitutes 'amost everyone'.

No one else has significance.

8-)

[ATI_7500]

However, citing 6 countries in the article hardly constitutes 'amost everyone'.  

Germany does it, and that's all that counts. ;P

[Omag 2.0]

I'm a bit worried about soil quality in an area of a trash-filled landfill after ~50 years...

You should! Having quite a bit of experience I can safely state that older landfills are ticking timebombs... They pollute the groundwater and soil, leaking all sorts of "pleasant" chemical compounts to the surrounding area. Especially as rainwater falls on the landfill and trickles trough the waste. The problem is that the pollution doesn't necessarily stick around the landfill itself. Underwater groundflows tend to disperse the nasty stuff over a far greater area.

Modern landfills are build to handle this problem and collect the percolatewater and treat it, so no pollution can enter the soil.

On the other hand, I think we humans should start at the source and reduce the amount of waste beeing produced, so we don't have to find new ways to get rid of it in the first place! As a prime example, I'm finally going to install me a compostheap, to help reduce my wasteproduction!

[ATI_7500]

You should! Having quite a bit of experience I can safely state that older landfills are ticking timebombs... They pollute the groundwater and soil, leaking all sorts of "pleasant" chemical compounts to the surrounding area. Especially as rainwater falls on the landfill and trickles trough the waste. The problem is that the pollution doesn't necessarily stick around the landfill itself. Underwater groundflows tend to disperse the nasty stuff over a far greater area.

Knew it!

[H]

Having quite a bit of experience I can safely state that older landfills are ticking timebombs... They pollute the groundwater and soil, leaking all sorts of "pleasant" chemical compounts to the surrounding area. Especially as rainwater falls on the landfill and trickles trough the waste. The problem is that the pollution doesn't necessarily stick around the landfill itself. Underwater groundflows tend to disperse the nasty stuff over a far greater area.

Well, if you can get the ground water to flow uphill, there's a nearby country that found occasion to bring all sorts of chemical concoctions your way in the past, with a wide claim for disbursement -- now you can return the favor...

8-)

[pepper_airborne]

I'm a bit worried about soil quality in an area of a trash-filled landfill after ~50 years...

You should! Having quite a bit of experience I can safely state that older landfills are ticking timebombs... They pollute the groundwater and soil, leaking all sorts of "pleasant" chemical compounts to the surrounding area. Especially as rainwater falls on the landfill and trickles trough the waste. The problem is that the pollution doesn't necessarily stick around the landfill itself. Underwater groundflows tend to disperse the nasty stuff over a far greater area.

Modern landfills are build to handle this problem and collect the percolatewater and treat it, so no pollution can enter the soil.

On the other hand, I think we humans should start at the source and reduce the amount of waste beeing produced, so we don't have to find new ways to get rid of it in the first place! As a prime example, I'm finally going to install me a compostheap, to help reduce my wasteproduction!  ;)

Exactly what i was about to suggest. That is why the governement controls it here(The Netherlands). + we have the advantage of a hughe natural water cleansing area, wich allows us to have one of the bigger replacebles water supplies in the world.