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Trump Administration Reverses Course on Plastic Water Bottle Restrictions
The National Park Service (NPS) decided late last week to reverse an Obama-era recommendation to ban the sale of disposable plastic bottles at national parks. The rule did not outright ban water bottles, but
Officials say 23 of the 417 NPS sites have implemented the policy since it was enacted. Those include some the nation’s most popular destinations such as the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Mount Rushmore.
The 2011 recommendation from NPS was implemented after officials became concerned with a growing problem of discarded water bottles. Multiple studies had previously shown plastic water bottles as a major source of pollution, notably at the Grand Canyon National Park. In a 2012 study, just one year after the recommended ban was put in place, the parks department "found large decreases in bottles found on the trails."
Despite the positive results, the recommendation became a major focus of the International Bottled Water Association, an industry lobbying group. The Trump administration changed course soon after the confirmation of David Bernhardt as Deputy Interior Secretary. Bernhardt had most recently served as a lawyer representing Deer Park water.
Here's yet another example of Trump and his administration putting corporate interests above those of the nation. According to Jesse Bragg of the non-profit Corporate Accountability International
...this is an "example of the industry pulling the strings behind the scenes to protect its profits."
Sources:
https://weather.com/science/environment/news/national-park-service-plastic-water-bottles