A one-time expense of $5,000 to promote the use of non-plastic water bottles in Powell River was approved by city council on Thursday, July 6. The money will be spent on stainless steel bottles with City of Powell River’s logo on them.
Plans for using the bottles include donations, civic gifts and retail sales.
“It’s a great initiative to start getting people on board with carrying around their stainless steel water bottle everywhere they go,” said city councillor CaroleAnn Leishman.
Of the 1,000 stainless steel bottles purchased, half will be donated to Powell River Action Centre Food Bank, according to Leishman.
By buying in volume, Leishman said the city’s cost will be about $5 per bottle, including the cost of shipping from Ontario. A retail price for the bottles has not been determined.
The purchase will come out of council’s miscellaneous budget. Mayor Dave Formosa said it is a good use of council’s miscellaneous funds but does not leave much in that account.
“This is the one we raid all the time when we say, ‘We don’t know where to go,’” said Formosa. “We’ll just about be cleaned out.”
Council was initially approached by the food bank at its committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday, July 4, to provide water bottles for an upcoming event.
“We were asking for a donation of 500 water bottles,” said food bank manager Savanna Dee.
After half of the order is sent to the food bank, the remaining 500 bottles will be used by the city as gifts and sold at Powell River Recreation Complex to recover some of the purchase cost.
“We have discussed in the past to have water bottles available at the complex as we have banned the sale of single-use, disposable water bottles,” said Leishman.
Council banned the use of plastic water bottles inside civic buildings, including the recreation complex, in a split vote on April 6. Councillors Leishman, Russell Brewer, Karen Skadsheim and Rob Southcott voted in favour of the ban while councillors Maggie Hathaway and Jim Palm voted against banning the bottles.
Filling stations are available at the recreation complex but some people do not have their own bottles, said Leishman.
“If we had bottles available for sale, that would be great,” she said.
Leishman added that in all likelihood, the stainless steel water bottle initiative will be an ongoing, sustainable project for the city.
