Restaurants think outside the bottle

Entrepreneurs, localities turn to tap for the environment

BOSTON. Henry Patterson doesn’t care if cutting bottled water from his restaurant’s menu will cost him revenue. He says it makes more sense to protect the environment than to put extra cents in the cash register.

“My wife never used a single paper towel, and I used to give her a lot of grief for that. But I’ve come to appreciate how important these issues are,” said Patterson, part-owner of the Other Side Café on Newbury Street. “I’m proud to be in a position in my own business where I can make a decision that may be uneconomic for us, but it’s irresponsible, and we’re not going to do it anymore.”

The Other Side Café joined five other restaurants Thursday pledging to stop selling water in plastic bottles and promote using tap water. The move is part of a national initiative to sway businesses and communities to “Think Outside the Bottle.”

Boston, Somerville and Cambridge are taking part, as well. Cambridge canceled its bottled water contract in 2008, Somerville made a similar commitment this week, and Boston is auditing the amount of bottled water usage in its municipal facilities. 

In Massachusetts, the Legislature is also debating a new bottle bill that would increase the number of bottle types that can be redeemed when recycled and increase the redemption value from five to 10 cents.