Throughout the United States, billions of dollars are spent each year on plastic water bottles. Plymouth State University has been adding to that statistic, consuming roughly 100,000 plastic water bottles annually.
Some PSU students took a stand, and on April 14th, Plymouth State University banned the sale of plastic water bottles on campus. Banning the sale of plastic water bottles has put “us [PSU] on the cutting edge of sustainability, we’re on the forefront of a movement that is going across the country,” stated Zack Goldenberg, treasurer of Ending Genocide Around the World (EGAW). Goldenberg later commented that banning the sale of plastic water bottles, “speaks well to our commitment to an even greener campus.”
The campaign to ban bottled water was a part of PSU’s water week. Goldenberg discussed how bottled water “leads to corporatization of water, and water needs to be viewed as a human right.”
The corporatization of bottled water has “manufactured the idea that we need bottled water, and tap water isn’t good enough.”
Plastic water bottles do not only harm the environment. Plastic water bottles are potentially unhealthy since chemicals can be “leeched into the water, since bottled water is less regulated,” stated Goldenberg.
PSU based their ban on the sale of plastic water bottles off of the University of Vermont’s plan. “We’re [PSU] starting to fall in line with other universities and advance,” said Speaker of the Student Senate, Ryan Patten.
PSU has a contract with Coca Cola, but Goldenberg believes Plymouth State’s contract with Coke will not drastically affect their profits. “Coke won’t get the sales, but it shouldn’t be that bad.” Although Coke may see some loss in profits Goldenberg believes this movement will impact the university finically and environmentally. “As far as the students and the campus are concerned it’s a win win. We’re [PSU] becoming safer and more environmentally sustainable,” said Goldenberg.
Goldenberg plans for the ban on plastic water bottles to begin in September.