NYPIRG study to look into potentially phasing out water bottles
A study beginning Thursday will look into potentially banning or phasing out water bottles on the Syracuse University campus.
‘This is a study. It’s not like we want a ban or anything like that,’ said Alejandro Fernandez-Lovo, a project coordinator for the SU and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry chapter of the New York Public Interest Research Group, which is coordinating the study.
The announced study comes out of several weeks of NYPIRG listening to students’ concerns and opinions on the use of water bottles.
A Facebook page called ‘Back to the Tap — Syracuse University’ will host a survey beginning Thursday. The survey is open to students, faculty and staff and will include space for students to comment on how they feel about a phase-out of water bottles, the amount of bottled beverages they consume and their preferences for drinking fountains or bottled water.
Once the results from the survey are in, Fernandez-Lovo said he plans to present it to SU’s Student Association, as well as ESF’s Undergraduate Student Association, and ask for a resolution. He will then present the results to the administration at both schools.
Before NYPIRG announced its study, representatives from the group had visited classrooms to discuss the issue with students.
‘A lot of students have been asking, ‘Is there a way to eliminate the sale of water bottles?” Fernandez-Lovo said.
This is not the first time NYPIRG has supported the reformation of bottled beverage use in New York state.
In 1982, the group successfully advocated for New York’s 5-cent deposit law, the Bottle Bill, to be passed by the state Legislature. Absent from the original bill was a stipulation to allow a 5-cent deposit on water bottles, which was not included because they are not containers for carbonated beverages. In 2009, New York passed a law that stated all bottled water sold in New York smaller than a gallon would require a 5-cent deposit starting Oct. 31, 2009, according to NYPIRG’s website.
Twelve other American college campuses have already begun to make progress toward eliminating water bottles on their campuses, according to NYPIRG’s estimates. On Nov. 5, The Cornell Daily Sun reported Cornell University’s student government passed a resolution to phase out bottled water sales. Similar steps have been made by other universities, including Brown University, Washington University in St. Louis, DePauw University, Oberlin College and the University of Portland.
A main argument against the use of water bottles is that they are the No. 1 source of trash at landfills, Fernandez-Lovo said.
Other arguments against the use of water bottles include the cost and fuel used to ship bottles and that Syracuse’s tap water is already clean enough to be used in place of bottled water.
‘I feel it’s kind of silly to be shipping these bottles around the country when we have perfectly good drinking water here,’ said John Hassett, an ESF chemistry professor.
The primary source of drinking water to Syracuse is directly from Skaneateles Lake. The water passes through a series of coarse screens and is treated with chlorine. But the drinking water of Syracuse is unique in that it is one of only six unfiltered water sources in the United States that supply a large metropolitan area, according to the Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Hassett suggested students who do not like the taste of chlorinated tap water should use a water filter, such as those produced by Brita, to be more sustainable-minded. Hassett also said he has no opinion about whether to support or oppose the proposal to potentially phase out bottles.
Published on November 17, 2010 at 12:00 pm
