(Niagara At Large is posting this piece from Niagara College for your information, and because this is no small news. When a college as large as Niagara is now, with two major campuses in Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake and a number of satellite campuses, decides to take a stand against bottled water, that is – at the risk of repeating – no small news As you may know, there has been a push by the Council of Canadians and other public interest groups for many years to get people away from buying bottled water for two key reasons – a) almost every set of tests that has been performed over the past two decades by municipal, provincial, state and federal governents in both Canada and the United States has shown no significant difference between the quality of bottled water and municipal tap water, and b) the cost of bottled water is at least thousands of times higher than filling the same container up with tap water.
So now let’s leave it go to Niagara College’s August 29 media release.)
A Submission from Niagara College
Niagara College is tapping into a new sustainability initiative by
implementing a new ban on the sale of plastic water bottles on campus.
The news was announced to staff and faculty today at the College’s
annual Niagara Day event. The initiative originally stemmed from staff
recommendations aimed at boosting the College’s sustainability
efforts.
“There was an overwhelming response from staff and faculty to ban the
sale of bottled water on campus,” said Taryn Wilkinson, the
College’s environmental project coordinator. “Banning bottled
water has the obvious benefit of reducing waste from plastic bottles and
supports the notion that everyone has the right – not the privilege – to
clean drinking water, and it should not be sold as a commodity.”
After it was recommended by NC’s Sustainability Committee and
approved by its executive team in July, the College began preparing for
the initiative. At the Welland Campus, six spout attachments were
installed at existing water fountains and 11 new hydration stations were
added. Eight water spout attachments were also installed at the
Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus.
“If we are banning the sale of bottled water, it was important to
provide an alternative for our staff and students,” said Teresa
Quinlin, vice-president, Corporate Services. “Banning bottled water
was a big step for us, but it is important to demonstrate that we are
serious about sustainability.”
The ban comes into effect in September to be followed by a bottled
water reduction campaign during the 2012 academic year. The College’s
sustainability ambassadors will help educate staff and students with
blind taste tests, movie showings and information sessions about bottled
water and reasons for the ban.
Niagara College isn’t the first public institution to ban the sale of
bottled water. It follows the footsteps of many municipalities in the
Niagara Region, school boards, and post-secondary institutions – such as
Queen’s University, The University of Toronto and Fleming College –
who have already implemented the ban.
In December 2011, NC launched a set of five-year sustainability targets
aimed at reducing the College’s environmental footprint and at
creating a renewed focus on environmental issues. Over the next five
years, the college has committed to cutting its paper consumption in
half and achieving a 65% diversion rate for waste, while reducing its
electricity consumption by 10%, its greenhouse gas emissions by 10%, and
its water consumption by 5%. NC also incorporated new sustainable
technologies as part of its $90-million campus redevelopment which was
completed in spring 2011.
At today’s Niagara Day event, it was also announced that NC’s waste
diversion target has been achieved in its first year, with a 65.5%
diversion rate.
Niagara College offers more than 100 diploma, bachelor degree and
advanced level programs at campuses in Welland, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and
Niagara Falls; as well as more than 600 credit, vocational and general
interest Continuing Education courses. Areas of specialization include
food and wine sciences, advanced technology, media, applied health and
community safety, supported by unique learning enterprises in food,
wine, beer, horticulture and esthetics. For more information visit
NiagaraCollege.ca .
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post below.)
Niagara At Large 
Well done Niagara College. Lets hope others follow your lead
D. Fisher
LikeLike
Niagara Region should follow the City of Montreal, who have taken steps to remove anti-biotics, pesticides,steroids and birth control residue out of their water supply,.the people deserve a safe and healthy water supply.period.!!
LikeLike
This is great! It makes me think of Hillside, a music festival in Guelph that I’ve been attending for a couple of years. Instead of selling bottled water there, they bring in a big truck of treated municipal water and then sell reusable cups (or you can bring your own reusable container). It’s a great idea, and it works because the ground isn’t littered with garbage all weekend. They all use reusable plates and have volunteer dishwashing stations, which is fantastic. By way of contrast, I went to one concert at Echo Beach this summer, and after just a few short hours, the ground was nearly completely covered with beer cans, water bottles and other assorted debris. It was disgusting! I hope more festivals and institutions will follow suit and ban the sale of bottled water.
LikeLike