Main Beach Park will get a water bottle refilling station thanks to a $5,000 fundraising campaign led by the Laguna Bluebelt Coalition.
The station will ideally help reduce the number of single-use plastic bottles tossed in Laguna Beach and hopefully prevent some from polluting local beaches and the City’s Marine Protected Areas. It will replace a drinking fountain at Main Beach Park.
“This project is a great example of thinking globally and acting locally,” said Mayor Pro Tem Steve Dicterow before gaining unanimous support from fellow councilmembers.
In 30 years, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish, according to science projections, with an estimated 11 million tons of plastic entering the ocean each year.
To address plastic pollution, the Laguna Bluebelt Coalition advanced the bottle refilling station with the help of the Laguna Beach Environmental Sustainability Committee.
The Laguna Bluebelt Coalition initially contributed $1,500 to launch the fundraising effort and invited local groups to contribute. Project sponsors gathered by Charlotte Masarik, Anne Girtz and Jinger Wallace include the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, Laguna Greenbelt Inc., Laguna Beach Garden Club, Barbara MacGillivray of One World One Ocean, Laguna Beach County Water District, and Waste Management. Marine Safety Chief Kevin Snow and Marine Protection Officer Porter Hogan also helped get the project in front of the City Council.
Is this water filtered?