U.S. mayors agree to phase out bottled water

A group of U.S. mayors voted Monday against spending taxpayer money to buy bottled water and in favour of phasing out regular use of bottled water for their employees and at civic functions.

The vote was passed by a majority of the estimated 250 mayors meeting at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami.

The change could mean people at city council meetings around the country in the future could more often see pitchers of water instead of clear plastic bottles on the tables of local legislators.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom wrote the non-binding resolution. He was joined by 17 sponsors, including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Leading up to the vote, more than 60 mayors around the U.S. had already taken some measures to reduce or eliminate bottled water use. Most recently, the cities of San Jose, Calif., Miami and Orlando, Fla., decided to phase out bottled water.

A number of prominent celebrity U.S. chefs, including Alice Waters and Mario Batali, have switched to tap water.

Critics of bottled water point to the energy wasted in production of plastic bottles and the shipping process. Bottled water consumption has been growing at double-digit rates.