Natalie
UDel
Water on Campus: Filtered Tap Water versus Bottle Water
Bottled Water Facts from DENIN:
1) In the United States, approximately 60 million plastic bottles are disposed, instead of being
recycled, of every day. These bottles ultimately end up in landfills or in our oceans, harming
marine life that mistake the degraded plastic for food.
2) Bottled water fuels our dependence on fossil fuels as well. The U.S. bottled water industry
consumes over 50 million barrels of oil a year, enough oil to fuel 3 million cars for one year.
3) There are also many economic reasons to avoid bottled water. The EPA estimates that nearly a
quarter of one popular brand of bottled water, for example, originally comes from tap water at
a price at least 300 times the cost of tap water. The recommended eight glasses of water a day
for one year costs about $1,400 in bottled water versus only 49 cents in tap water.
University of Delaware has instituted several measures to reduce water usage on campus. However,
whenever I go to meetings with food you see bottled water. In every cafeteria and restaurant you see
bottled water. On the other hand I have received several reusable water containers from the university.
In fact I have gotten at least 5 and I have talked my family into using them too. I talked my Dad out of
drinking bottled water and using the bottle I gave him instead.
The cool thing is that there is already a group on campus which is dedicated to spreading awareness of
some of the same things that Annie Leonard is talking about in the video. Here is an article from the
school newspaper written earlier in the year.
http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2012/apr/water-campaign-042512.html
The Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN) Student Programs Committee
The good news is that nearly 100 campuses have been able to ban or restrict bottled water on
campus. It is certain that the word is getting out about bottle water, but millions of bottles a day are
still being consumed.
The University of Delaware has signed a contract with Pepsi. In addition to bringing
Aquafina bottled water onto campus as the official bottled water, the contract has brought
UDel into conflict with longtime suppliers. For example, Herr’s Products have been removed
from the shelves unceremoniously in favor of Pepsico products despite their large donations to
the University and the fact that many of their executives are University of Delaware graduates.
These long term and wide ranging contracts tie the UDel into unhealthy relationships. The
Aquafina bottled water will still be there even if the students are against it.
Press Release from last December:
“The University of Delaware today announced it has signed an agreement with Pepsi Beverages
Company (PBC) for exclusive beverage pouring rights on campus. This new, multi-year
partnership features PepsiCo’s comprehensive beverage lineup of carbonated soft drinks
including Pepsi and Mountain Dew, Lipton teas, Aquafina, SoBe and Propel waters and
Gatorade sports drinks, and Muscle Milk, among others.”
Thankfully, in 2012 we have now gotten several “Hydration Station” filling centers in the
Perkins Center and other locations! This allows students like me to say no to bottled water
and yes to using drinking purified tap water instead. It would be best to ban bottled water,
but this is a good first step.
See the following article about our refilling stations on campus:
http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2012/jan/water-refill-station-011212.html