On January 1, the town of Concord, Massachusetts, became the first municipality in the nation to ban the sale of single-serving water bottles smaller than 34 ounces.

The bill is the result of town activists—primarily town resident Jean Hill, 84. Hill told the New York Times in 2010, “The bottled water companies are draining our aquifers and selling it back to us.” She led two other attempts to ban the plastic bottles before the April measure passed the Town Council.

Stores that violate the ban and sell bottled water will receive a warning on the first offense, a $25 fine for the second, and $50 for each subsequent infraction. The ban would be suspended during emergencies.

Ban the Bottle claims that 17 million barrels of oil per year are used to make all the plastic water bottles used in the U.S. alone—enough oil to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year. In 2007, Americans consumed over 50 billion single serve bottles of water. With a recycling rate of only 23%, over 38 billion bottles end up in landfills.

We hope that this plastic bottle ban is a glimpse of things to come. Just like plastic grocery bags, plastic bottle waste is a serious problem that needs to be addressed nationwide. Kudos to Jean Hill and the town of Concord for leading the charge for change!