Students, staff and faculty at the University of Ottawa will no longer be able to buy a bottle of water to quench their thirst.

Starting today, the university has stopped the sale of bottled water on campus.

The university is encouraging members of its community to find other ways to quench their thirst for water, including filling up glasses and re-usable bottles at the nearest fountain or tap on campus.

The University of Ottawa has invested over $100-thousand to revitalize its water fountains, and will spend an additional $75-thousand next year.

The U of O is the first campus in Ontario to ban the sale of bottled-water.

Way to go U of O!

The government in Nova Scotia is taking serious steps help curb the sale of bottled water by committing to ban the sale of bottled water in provincial facilities.

The Polaris Institute notes:

Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter used the annual convention of CUPE Nova Scotia to announce his government is committed to a ban on the sale of bottled water in all provincial facilities that have potable water.

Dexter told convention delegates he has asked the Department of the Environment to develop a policy that commits his government to this new practice.

The premier also said he expects to announce the details of pilot projects in the very near future.
Reacting to the announcement, CUPE Nova Scotia President Danny Cavanagh says, “This makes Nova Scotia the very first province in the country to commit to ending this environmentally unfriendly practice. It also tells Nova Scotians that this government is committed to promoting safe, clean, municipal drinking water.

“These are services that are provided by CUPE municipal workers across the province and something we are very proud of,” says Cavanagh.

“We are also proud to be part of the ‘Turn on the Taps and Ditch the Bottle’ Coalition that has been working to raise awareness on the issue of bottled water in Nova Scotia,” he says.

Across Canada municipalities and school boards, universities and colleges, faith-based organizations and restaurants are standing up for public water by taking out the bottle.

On September 1, 2010 the University of Ottawa, in collaboration with the Student Federation (SFUO), will be the first University in Ontario to put a complete and immediate stop to the sale of bottled water on its campuses. This is only one of many sustainable development initiatives undertaken by the university in recent years.

Students, faculty, staff and other members of the uOttawa community are encouraged to find other ways of quenching their thirst for water throughout the day, such as filling up cups, glasses and re-usable bottles at the nearest fountain or tap on campus.

Since 2008, the University of Ottawa has invested over $100,000 to revitalize its water fountains and an additional $75,000 will be invested next year.

The improvements include gooseneck fountains for quick and easy filling of re-usable bottles, new fountains near food service outlets, upgrades to existing fountains, wheelchair accessibility, stronger pressure and better refrigeration.

“Our green initiatives have had an impact on our students and community in two important ways. First, our initiatives have resulted in a cleaner environment for our community. Equally important, we’ve taken the $31 million in energy cost savings and invested the amount directly in education, support services and research — things that matter to our students, our faculty and our community,” stated Allan Rock, president of the University of Ottawa.

[via Inside the Bottle]

Hamilton, Ontario, a city with nearly 700,000 residents in Canada is considering banning the bottle. Well not quite. But the city is at least trying to start campaigns aimed at curbing bottled water sales.

The strategy is aimed at encouraging Hamiltonians to tap into the city water supply as much as possible while reducing reliance on bottled water.

Bottled water is big business in Canada. Sales of bottles of water less than 18 litres in size have soared to $430 million in 2006, up from $280 million in 2002.

But to address environmental concerns over waste and the loss of confidence in municipal tap water, some 39 Ontario municipalities have posted restrictions on bottled water in municipal facilities.

As well, in cities such as Toronto and London, Ont., where bottled water is banned from municipal premises companies have found a way around the prohibition by selling flavoured water products instead.

Read the full article here: http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/751866

Unlike our friends in Washington, landfills in North Carolina seem a little less dense these days.

The mid-Atlantic state recently banned disposing plastic bottles in landfills to help reduce trash and encourage recycling. This has become a practical issue in rural towns where curbside recycling is not offered. Winston-Salem Journal reports on how the problem was solved in one county. The president of Rural Garbage Services Inc. offered to pick them up for free: “In order to recycle their plastics, people in those areas would have to take them to one of the county’s three recycling centers…Parrish came up with a solution for his customers: His company would pick up the bottles from its customers for free.” Nice guy.

Although people could just hide the bottles in their trash, the law does seem to be having a positive effect.

More plastic bottles have been dropped off at the county’s three centers since the landfill bottle ban was imposed, according to the City-County Utilities Division. From a monthly average of around 14,000 pounds of plastic for the period from September 2008 to September 2009, collections have risen to an average of about 19,000 a month for the first three months since the ban went into effect.

[via TreeHugger]

What a great way to start 2010, with a new portable water bottle! And when we say portable, we mean portable! This water bottle can fit and fold into almost any space!

The Vapur bottle is a flexible botte that is
- Reusable
- Foldable
- Attachable
- Identifiable
- Freezable
- Cleanable
You have to check this bottle out!

http://vapur.us/products.php#

Students at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, are doing their part to help reduce their plastic footprint by initiating a campus-wide plastic bottle plan this winter.

In a typical year, Brown University distributes as many as 250,000 bottles of water on campus. After some students started campaigning against using the bottles, the total dropped by 40,000.

By this time next year, some students hope the total will be zero.

That is the goal of the Beyond the Bottle Campaign, a student-run effort to eliminate bottled water on campus.

Continue Reading on www.projo.com >>

The Reno Waste Management team is taking steps to ban the bottle by encouraging employees and the local Reno community to use ban one-time-use plastic bottles and use more eco-friendly reusable bottles like those from Nalgene.

Americans grab 60-million bottles of water per day. But now, instead of just asking you to recycle those plastic water bottles, Waste Management is saying maybe you shouldn’t use them at all. “If you really want to do something good for the environment it is to get one of those plastic bottles you can reuse,” said Justin Caporusso a spokesman for Waste Management.

That’s also the message behind the Washoe County Health Department’s newest campaign, “I refill.” Instead of buying a bottle of water, they want you to invest in a refillable bottle for water. “We want people to stop using so many single use plastic water bottles,” said Tracie Douglas of the District Health Department.

Considering 8 of 10 plastic bottles aren’t recycled, you’d decrease the amount sent to the landfill and that’s good for the environment.

Considering a gallon of bottled water could cost up to $10 you’d also decrease the amount you spend and that’s also good for you wallet.

And considering most plastic bottles contain a chemical called BPA (known to cause diabetes and liver disease) you’d decrease your exposure and that’s good for your health.” There are tons of different chemicals used when you make a plastic bottle, but that particular one does leech into whatever particular beverage you’re drinking,” said Douglas

Money used to promote reusing actually comes from the recycle fee you pay every time you buy a new tire. It’s a campaign, meant to keep the environment rolling in the right direction.

[via KTVN TV]