Em-Bottled SF Mayor Urges Restaurants to Tap City's Water

San Francisco’s mayor called on restaurants yesterday to quit selling bottled water and favor the tap, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Gavin Newsom, a former restaurateur, says the plastic containers pile up in landfills and hurt the environment. The request—which isn’t a requirement—follows Newsom’s ban last year on using tax dollars to buy bottled water for city employees.

“You would prefer that government did not tell you how to run your business, but I do think this is a positive initiative,” said a local restaurant owner. A report earlier this year found that San Francisco’s tap water is almost unique in being free from certain chemical contaminants, and it holds up well against bottled water in taste tests. (More San Francisco stories.)