Last week, during student elections, the U of W Students’ Association held a referendum on campus asking students if they would support the elimination of bottled plastic water. Almost 75 per cent of voters said they would support the move.

 

Approximately 38,400 plastic water bottles are currently sold in the cafeterias and vending machines on campus annually. The ban will be phased in over the next few months.

 

Students will also be encouraged to refrain from bringing retail, disposable bottles on campus and to switch instead to reusable bottles. The students’ association and U of W administration will partner on a plan to provide all first-year, incoming students with reusable bottles for free as part of their 2009-10 orientation package.

 

 

“There is a growing awareness internationally, one that is increasingly embraced by the next generation, that water security is a basic human right,” U of W President & Vice-Chancellor Lloyd Axworthy said in a statement this morning. “We are committed to a comprehensive Sustainability Management System at The University of Winnipeg, unique among Canadian universities, and the initiative shown by our students to reduce needless plastics on campus is consistent with that policy. We are proud to support this student-led initiative.”