The Sustainability Council unanimously endorsed a ban of plastic water bottles last Thursday, which was originally proposed by Take Back the Tap on Feb. 2.
The proposal stated “that the University of Denver will phase out the purchase, sale, and distribution of bottled water by the beginning of the year 2014, and in the process will reinvest in drinking fountain infrastructure by increasing and retrofitting drinking fountains around campus.”
The Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Committee first brought the initiative to the Council’s attention in January, promising that Andrew Bishop, the Take Back the Tap campus coordinator, would have this proposal for them to sign in February.
Bishop emailed the proposal to members of the Council before the meeting, including students, staff and faculty. They arrived having read the document and voted accordingly.
“I was really surprised that we got a unanimous vote,” said Bishop, “It was really gratifying.”
At the meeting, the Council discussed how they might continue, as well as their concerns about the new initiative. A major concern was that banning bottled water might push students to buy unhealthy drinks like soda instead. Although the concern was addressed, no solution was proposed.
If the initiative becomes policy, it will require renegotiation of the Pepsi contract to exclude bottled water sales. The current contract is set to expire at the end of 2013, which is why Take Back the Tap is pushing for the initiative to go into effect at the beginning of 2014. This will give them time to coordinate with Pepsi before the new contract is signed.
Nationally, nine universities have already successfully implemented similar policies concerning bottled water, and last Tuesday the National Park Service announced Grand Canyon National Park will eliminate in-park sales of bottled water within the next 30 days.
On Tuesday, Bishop also approached USG about the Take Back the Tap initiative, which he hopes to present to them for endorsement within the next two weeks. This will be the second of five student groups that Take Back the Tap hopes to receive endorsement from before approaching the administration.
“USG was very receptive to the issue. They showed a lot of support,” said Bishop, adding that USG was pleased with the fact that since Take Back the Tap became active last year, there has been a 10,000-bottle usage decrease on campus.
This is only a drop in the bucket, considering that the university still uses almost 100,000 bottles every year.
But if Take Back the Tap succeeds, that number could be a thing of the past.
