The Suffolk County Water Authority has begun offering free reusable sport water bottles as part of a campaign to encourage residents to stop buying bottled water and go back to the tap, according to a September 11 article in Newsday.

Officials for the water authority point out the value and quality of tap water, saying that $1.46, roughly the price of a 20-ounce bottle of water, would buy 1,000 gallons of Suffolk’s tap water, which is frequently tested. The authority also notes that PET water bottles can be considered as a detriment to the environment because so many wind up in landfills.

Neil Lewis, executive director of the local environmental group Neighborhood Network and supporter of the program, said in the article, “This craze of buying water in plastic water bottles is really out of control and an enormous waste of resources, particularly oil.”

Tom Lauria, spokesman for the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), disputes this, saying that, “Bottled water containers make up only one-third of 1 percent of the US waste stream.”

The town of Babylon, located in Suffolk County, recently has approved legislation to eliminate bottled water from vending machines in town-owned facilities by the end of the month, according to the article.