bottled water for reusable drink bottles that customers could purchase and continue to use by utilising tap water and Marysville’s new water hydration station. Currently, the Maryville Visitor Information Centre is stocking reusable bottles supplied by GVW, and it is hoped this is just the beginning. “Right when we were awarded the water fountain I was getting people coming to me and saying if we’ve got the second best water in the world we need to make sure people are drinking that,” Chris says.
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Statistics released by Clean Up Australia show that most bottled water is packaged in materials derived from crude oil, meaning it can take up to three litres of water to
produce just one litre of bottled water, and some bottles can take up to 1000 years to break down. “If we can get the momentum going we can be known as the town that has banned the bottle and that is doing something for the environment,” Chris says. It is also hoped local sporting and community groups, and event organisers will join the initiative to encourage the phasing out of disposable plastic bottles during events. “I think people will get behind it,” Chris says. GVW say that while the initiative is still in its beginning stages, they hope to work with residents to develop the concept to help reduce the number of disposable plastic bottles.
Choose Tap initiative, which aims to promote tap water and decrease bottled water consumption.
In 2013 GVW adopted their
Along with other residents,
Since then GVW has been working with communities, sporting groups and schools to encourage the use of tap water, rather than bottled. Choose Tap has seen permanent and portable refill stations be installed throughout communities, reusable bottles distributed as well as encouraging ‘water only’ schools and workplaces. When Chris contacted GVW after Marysville’s water prizes were awarded, he never thought the journey would lead to this project. “It wasn’t ever my intention,” he says.
Chris wanted to celebrate Marysville’s water, however it is now hoped with the town’s support, a new challenge and change will take hold in Marysville. “It came about when we won those awards and the obvious thought process was, if you’re going to come to Marysville, why would you want to drink anybody else’s water when you can have what has been voted the second best water in the world.” “We believe we’ve got such good water here, it’s the mountain water, we know it’s our water, we know exactly where it comes from, it’s ours and Buxton’s,” he says. To follow Marysville’s move away from disposable plastic bottles search ‘Marysville Chooses Tap’ on Facebook.
As well as our huge range of Sweets & Chocolates we have many new products including Locally made Ice Cream Fresh Local Seasonal Fruit, Berries and Vegetables, Garlic from country Victoria, a huge range of Local Preserves, Chutneys, Berry Sauces and lots more Marysville Lolly Shop Phone 03 5963 3644 www.marysvillelollyshop.com.au
Murrindindi Guide – SUMMER 2016/17 – 17