Greenies Freeze Out Ben & Jerry's for Water Waste

Green-friendly company admits water-wasting practice is 'not acceptable'
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 25, 2009 4:40 PM CDT
Greenies Freeze Out Ben & Jerry's for Water Waste
Ben & Jerry's is in hot water because of its controversial "dipping well" policy.   (Photo: Business Wire)

Ben & Jerry’s locations around the world are wasting nearly 300,000 gallons of water per day, a News of the World investigation finds. The whimsical ice cream maker, famous for its green ethics and environmental activism, requires employees to wash scoops in sinks under constantly running water to hinder bacterial growth. But even Ben & Jerry’s is now saying the “dipping well” policy is “not acceptable.”

By keeping the taps running in its 782 stores across 25 countries, the company is wasting the equivalent daily water needs of 250,000 people in Mozambique, the News notes. “It’s not very ecological, but we are supposed to keep them on,” one frustrated employee said. A spokesman for Ben & Jerry’s promises it will roll out a new sanitation system in its UK stores by late November. No word yet on locations elsewhere.
(More Ben & Jerry's stories.)

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