The Trump administration is rolling back a six-year-old ban on selling bottled water at some national parks. The initiative was designed to reduce litter.
Several parks, including Grand Canyon National Park, had restricted the sale of individual plastic water bottles.
In a statement, the National Park Service said the 2011 policy has been rescinded to expand hydration options for recreationalists, hikers and other visitors to national parks. The ban removed the healthiest beverage choice at a variety of parks while still allowing sales of bottled sweetened drinks, said the statement. The change in policy comes after a review of the policy’s aims and impact in close consultation with Department of the Interior leadership.
“While we will continue to encourage the use of free water bottle filling stations as appropriate, ultimately it should be up to our visitors to decide how best to keep themselves and their families hydrated during a visit to a national park, particularly during hot summer visitation periods,” said Acting National Park Service Director Michael T. Reynolds.
Currently only 23 of the 417 National Park Service sites have implemented the policy. The revocation of the memorandum, which was put in place on December 14, 2011, is effective immediately. Parks said it will continue to promote the recycling of disposable plastic water bottles and many parks have already worked with partners to provide free potable water in bottle filling stations located at visitor centers and near trailheads.
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