In Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson's weekly "watchdog" blog entry, he questions why Minneapolis spent $180,000 on a campaign to get more people to drink Minneapolis tap water, more often.
Let's break it down for the commissioner.
Hennepin County ends up burning or landfilling a good deal of the waste produced in Minneapolis. That garbage burner next to the Twins Stadium is county-run. An estimated 86 percent of plastic water bottles do not get recycled and end up in the solid waste stream, so for every 100 times someone in Minneapolis chooses bottled water over tap water, 86 of those bottles are headed the county's way.
It's not just the city of Minneapolis that benefits when it persuades residents and businesses to reduce plastic waste. It's for people breathing the air — incinerating plastic bottles produces toxic byproducts. For those who pick up litter. And for those who'd rather see their natural gas and petroleum used to heat and drive to their homes in Maple Grove, instead of to make and transport plastic bottles there.
"Minneapolis water" is also used in several Hennepin County suburbs, including Golden Valley, where I live. Buying "Minneapolis water" meant our city did not have to build its own filtration plant. Overall, having other customers for the state-of-the-art Minneapolis plant means Hennepin County residents can enjoy better tap water for less.
The Minneapolis PR strategy, then, seems to support this statement on the Hennepin County website: "We want to avoid the cost of new and expensive waste management facilities. Our goals are to help protect the environment and conserve resources."
And best of all, commissioner, you're getting that help from Minneapolis for free.
