Ian Blair Hamilton's HealtheMail

 

Many colleges and universities have joined the green movement. New offices of sustainability, new majors and minors in renewable energy, sustainability studies, and environmental studies, and new clubs focused on green initiatives have sprung up across campuses nationwide. In fact, some students may be looking at specific places of study because of their very commitment to going green.

One group of colleges and universities stands apart in their commitment: those that have decided to ban plastic water bottles. New York Times describes the addition of Seattle University and the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point to the list of campuses that have banned plastic bottled water.

With Washington University in St. Louis leading the movement in 2009, the following colleges and universities in the US and Canada have now banned the sale of bottled water, according to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education:

• Belmont University
• Oberlin College
• Seattle University
• University Ottawa
• University Portland
• University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
• Upstate Medical University
• Washington University in St. Louis

Other universities have banned plastic bottled water from their dining halls, including Gonzaga University, New York University, Stanford University, Stony Brook University, and University of Maryland (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education). While bans may not yet be officiated at other institutions, there are student campaigns to ban bottled water at universities and colleges like Brown University, Cornell University, Evergreen State College, Pennsylvania State University, and Vancouver Island University.

These students, colleges, and universities have taken a great leap forward in bringing back the tap. Highlighting stats like 86% of plastic water bottles end up in landfills and demonstrating that bottled water bans can be effective, these institutions call us to act in our own communities. Let’s stop wasting plastic, money, and resources, and start following their lead.