Student Action

Fredericton group looks to eliminate bottled water from campus

Kyle Mullin, October 15, 2009, HERE New Brunswick's Urban Voice--A few former students of John McKendy felt the best way to start spreading their environmentalist mantra was through a literal message in a bottle, given to every first year student at both UNB and STU earlier this month. After twisting off the cap and reaching inside, those campus newcomers unfolded a note denouncing bottled water as a waste that we should all be worried about.

"Bottled water is incredibly environmentally destructive," said Ella Henry, a spokesperson for the Coalition for Bottled Water-Free Campuses in Fredericton, which is dedicated to McKendy. "Between production and transportation a lot of energy is wasted. In addition approximately half of water bottles are not recycled and end up in landfills."

Henry went on to list the other drawbacks of bottled water "" that a litre of it is often more expensive than a litre of oil, and that it contributes to the increasing privatization of water not as a necessity, but as a commodity.

"Many people buy bottled water because it is said to be safer or healthier," she said. "However, where bottled water plants are inspected on average once every three years, municipal water is tested at least once a day. Tap water is a cheaper, healthier and more environmentally friendly alternative to bottled water."

Henry said the coalition will work to encourage both university's administrations to phase out bottled water from the cafeterias and vending machines, along with providing alternatives like more water fountains.

But Jeffrey Carleton, spokesperson for St. Thomas University, said the matter of bottled water simply isn't that cut and dry. He said both STU and UNB have an exclusive agreement with Pepsi as a bottler which provides them with, among other things, bottles of Aquafina. The campuses and that corporation are bound by a seven-year contract that is only in its second year.

He added that STU receives $30,000 to $40,000 a year for those exclusive rights, which are donated to student interest groups including athletics, student union initiatives and house committee activities.

"We're not at the point of breaching that contract yet," he said. "The other thing is, if students don't want to use (bottled water) they don't have to purchase it. When a word like ban gets thrown around a campus you have to be careful. Why not cigarettes? Why not bottled pop, because you can buy that from a fountain too."

Henry said that the initiative is far from undoable "" the University of Winnipeg has banned the sale of bottled water on campus, and Memorial University has committed to phasing out the sale of bottled water on their grounds as well. Aside from that, cities from coast to coast like Toronto and Hay River have eliminated bottled water from municipal facilities and events.

"STU could perhaps modify its contract (with Pepsi), to start phasing out bottled water," she said. "We're not looking to tell people they can't bring bottled water on campus, or to have someone start enforcing anything radical. We just want to try and bring about a gradual change."

Henry said that will be the key to the coalition's success "" not in butting heads with the administration, but in raising awareness to help spark change for the better.

"(Dr.) John (McKendy) was passionate about social and environmental justice, and he passed that passion on to his students," she said, adding that in one of his last classes, the sociology professor encouraged some of those students raise awareness about the issue surrounding bottled water. "Encouraging students to get involved in our community was something he did frequently, the inspiration to start this initiative came from him."