Student Action

University of Winnipeg Students’ Association wins a 2009 Manitoba Excellence in Sustainability Award for Bottled Water Ban!

Posted: December 4, 2009

The University of Winnipeg Students’ Association’s (UWSA) wins the 2009 Manitoba Excellence in Sustainability Awards in the category of Education for Sustainability for implementing a successful campaign to eliminate the sale of bottled water on campus, making the University of Winnipeg the first university in Canada to implement a ban!

In March of 2009, in conjunction with World Water Day, the University of Winnipeg announced that it would become the first university in Canada to phase out the sale and provision of bottled water on campus by the fall semester 2009 and put resources towards water infrastructure. The UWSA’s efforts were crucial in making this possible by mobilizing student support through education and awareness-raising and implementing sustainable policies on water consumption.

The UWSA voted to end the sale of bottled water in all UWSA facilities by terminating their contract with Trainor Artesian Water, a water cooler company. In a student initiated referendum, 74.8% of students also voted to support the UWSA and University of Winnipeg’s initiative to “gradually eliminate sales of bottled water on campus with increased access to clean and free drinking water.” Working together with the Polaris Institute and other environmental, labour and public interest organizations, the UWSA provided important information to the campus community about the bottled water initiative by making educational resources available at info tables and a “Bottled Water and YOU of W” poster campaign.

The UWSA continues its efforts to challenge bottled water and support accessible public water systems in post-secondary institutions, as part of a network of campus organizers and public interest organizations across Canada, by sharing information and resources about how this initiative at the University of Winnipeg was possible. The UWSA’s efforts have most certainly made an important contribution to sustainable water stewardship locally, provincially, nationally and internationally--Congrats UWSA!