On May 28, 2009 the Central Okanagan Regional District Board became the 50th municipality (and the 33rd in 2009) to implement restrictions on bottled water. The Canadian board noted the bottled water continues to cause numerous environment problems.

This is another big win for Canada and the Ban the Bottle movement!

A college in Canada is taking steps to ban the bottle and stay hydrated using a new product called Hydration Station.

The water-dispensing device is a unique system/filling station for re-usable bottles. The College is the first facility in Canada to have a working unit. The hydration station is manufactured by the Haws Corporation and is sold in Canada through Dobbin Sales.

The hydration station processes tap water into pure water using state-of-the-art filtration technologies, which can be substituted whenever a specification calls for a drinking fountain. Before water reaches the nozzle, it runs through an NSF-certified filter to remove sediment, chlorine taste and odour. The system provides a hygienic, safe source for refilling personal re-usable bottles says Phil Kelly, Dobbin Sales.

Georgian College’s commitment to environmental sustainability has been underscored by the recent installation of a hydration station at the Barrie Campus as a pilot project.

“The hydration station provides an excellent alternative to plastic water bottles,” he said. “The fact that Georgian College is the first facility in Canada to adopt this technology says a great deal about its dedication to a ‘green’ community.”

The hydration station fulfills the College’s environmental sustainable directive, says Dianne Corrigan, Environmental Sustainability Co-ordinator.

“Georgian’s Physical Resources department and the Environmental Sustainability Committee are continually looking for ways to embed environmental sustainability into the College’s day-to-day operations,” she said. “The hydration station is the perfect answer to our mandate, which includes finding ways to diminish our environmental impact and incorporate ‘green’ living into corporate culture.”

The hydration station was acquired by Physical Resources in response to a request to reduce the use of plastic bottles on campus. The unit, which is located on the third floor of the C Building at the Barrie Campus across from Room C315, was generously donated to the College by the Haws Corporation. There is a potential for more than 30 units College-wide when fully implemented.

For more information on environmental sustainability initiatives at Georgian College, visit http://www.georgianc.on.ca/environment/.

[via Georgian News]

A recent article on Newsday.com noted that many states are beginning to cut back on bottled water and help the environment by reducing waste.

The New York City Council called for an end to bottled water purchases for city offices and city-sponsored events last June, and numerous restaurants and cultural venues have followed suit.

“Bottled water is wasteful and requires large amounts of energy to bottle and transport,” NY Gov. David Paterson said. More than 450 million gallons of oil per year are used to transport water from bottling plants to stores, and plastic water bottle manufacturing uses 17 million barrels of oil, he said.

Four billion pounds of water bottles end up in landfills or incinerators in New York annually, Paterson said. That number should decline when the state’s new 5-cent deposit on water bottles takes effect June 1.

“Taxpayers have spent billions of dollars to ensure that we have clean drinking water supplies,” Paterson said. “If we are going to make such significant investments, we should reap the benefits and use that water.”

Statehouses target bottled water to reduce waste [via Newsday.com]

Washington University has recently launched a ban on plastic water bottle sales amid environmental concerns.  Faculty, students, and staff on the Danforth, North, and West campuses are no longer able to find bottled water in vending machines or campus eateries.

Because of concerns about the environmental impact of bottled water, the University has ended sales of the product, and administrative offices will no longer offer bottled water at events and meetings. Instead, faculty, staff, students, and guests are encouraged to drink tap water and use reusable water containers.

“Plastic bottled water represents significant energy and waste issues,” said Matt Malten, assistant vice chancellor for sustainability. “It requires tremendous amounts of energy in production, packaging, transportation and recycling. National statistics show that the rate plastic bottles are recycled is low and getting lower, as more end up in landfills,” Malten said. “Members of the Washington University community all have access to healthy water from a tap, and drinking tap water eliminates the generation of solid waste and energy usage to produce bottled water.”

The tap water in St. Louis was rated as best in the country by the U.S. Mayor’s Conference in 2007.  Henry S. Webber, executive vice chancellor for administration, has requested that the deans of each of the University’s schools stop offering bottled water at their school’s events. Tap water is readily available on the Danforth, North, and West campuses, said Liz Kramer, a fellow in the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor for Administration. Nearly all buildings on campus feature multiple drinking fountains, and cold-water containers are located in Holmes Lounge and Whispers Cafe in Olin Library. Kramer is in the process of mapping the locations of additional fountains on the Danforth Campus.

Reducing the use of bottled water on campus is just one of many steps WUSTL is taking to reduce its impact on the environment. And it’s a step, said Deborah Howard, special assistant to the executive vice chancellor for administration, that the administration couldn’t implement without the support of others on campus — especially Washington University Dining Services and students, who led their own campaign to promote the use of tap water on campus.

Last October, during Campus Sustainability Week, students hosted water taste tests to show that there is little taste difference between bottled water and tap water. Students also sold reusable water bottles at the Danforth University Center.

WUSTL is the first university to ban the sale and use of bottled water in its administrative offices, dining services and vending machines, Kramer said. Even with the changes, faculty, staff, and students still will be allowed to bring their own bottled water to campus.

[via The Record]

Starting May 16, bottled water will no longer be sold on the Belmont University, a school in Nashville Tennessee.

The announcement came on Monday at the beginning of Earth Week. Belmont officials said they are trying to cut down on waste and decided bottled water is not practical for people or the environment.”We’re going to drink out of water fountains, get cups of water, what we did before we had (bottles) so readily available,” said Dr. Judy Skeen of Belmont University’s Environmental Initiative.

Purifying filters will be added to any water fountains on campus that did not already have them.

[via WSMV Nashville]

Students at Seattle University are uniting to ban the bottle, part of a nationwide student-led initiative to stop the sale of bottled water on college campuses and promote sustainable alternatives. 2009 marks Seattle U’s second year of participation in Ban the Bottle. Last year there was not enough student and faculty support to facilitate a formal change in the university’s contract with Pepsi, the company who supplies Seattle U with Aquafina bottled water, said Seattle U alumni Gretchenrae Callanta, who co-led the campaign last year with fellow alumnus Nick McCarvel.

Ron Smith, Seattle U’s vice president of finance and business affairs, said the administrators are open to discussing a ban on bottled water.

“I think we are all in support of the educational process and trying to move in that direction,” he said.

Eco-conscious students unite to ‘Ban the Bottle’ [via The Spectator at Seattle University]

The University of Winnepeg has become the first university in Canada to ban all plastic water bottle sales. The ban came after almost 75 per cent of students voted in favor during a recent referendum held by the University of Winnipeg Students’ Association. The university expects all bottles to be removed by January of 2010.

While city water is tested daily, bottling companies don’t test their water as often. Louise H’nault-thier, environmental co-coordinator with Sustainable Concordia, believes that water bottles are unnecessary.

“The quality of tap water in Montreal is really high,” she said. “Bringing your own refillable container will allow you to have fresh, clean water available to you whenever you like by simply refilling it at the water fountain.”
The Students’ Society of McGill University has already taken a step in banning bottle sales in its building.

“McGill is committed to sustainable operation,” said Dennis Fortune, McGill’s Sustainability Director. “We believe we should be encouraging tap water.” H’nault-’thier also points to the high price of bottled water. “Water is a free resource,”  she said. “We shouldn’t need to purchase it.”

U of W bans sale of bottled water [Inside the Bottle]