Last week, a new student environmental group calling itself the Climate Justice League poised itself to tackle its first campus issue: bottled water.
The group is gathering signatures in support of a resolution to cut bottled water out of the ASUO’s budget, and members feel optimistic about the mission.
“We’re talking about not spending student money on bottled water,” ASUO Senator Jeremy Blanchard said. “In three days of petitioning last week, we got over 1,000 signatures. Things are going well.”
Blanchard, a founding member of the Climate Justice League, said he thought over-consumption of plastics via bottled water sales on campus exemplifies the type of tangible obstacles the Climate Justice League was created to overcome.
“We’re focused on running really targeted campaigns that have a goal and specific timeline, so that we can actually create real change on campus, instead of just holding events and raising awareness,” he said. “We feel this is the most effective approach.”
In November, the Campus Recycling Program introduced 10 water fountain spigots that sport signs identifying them as refill stations for reusable water containers, part of a campaign to reduce students’ use of bottled water. Campus Recycling’s Free Bottled Water campaign garnered the support of multiple groups in the Student Sustainability Coalition, including the Survival Center and ASUO Environmental Advocate Daniel Rottenberg.
But many advocates desire bigger changes.
“Bottled water has always been an easy target, because here in Eugene we’re lucky enough to have some of the best tap water in the country,” Rottenberg said. “Here at UO, we’ve taken an approach of ‘go refillable,’ and that works to a certain point, but when push comes to shove, we need the administration to put spigots on water fountains and stickers or signs for these spigots. At that point, the idea of getting rid of bottled water altogether becomes more viable.”
At least 20 other universities, including the University of Portland, have now joined the nascent movement to ban the sale of disposable bottled water to students and faculty.
Karyn Kaplan, program manager of Campus Recycling, is passionate about her stance that the world water crisis is critical and bottled water exacerbates the problem.
“We need to work hard to get colleges to step away from bottled water,” Kaplan said. “It isn’t just the bottles that are an issue, it’s the precious resource itself. One in six people do not have access to drinking water in this world. Tap water is 1,000 times cheaper than bottled water to drink. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Kaplan finds a spark of reassurance in universities beginning a move toward water consciousness, but even more so in the fact that cities such as San Francisco, Salt Lake City and New York City have now imposed bans on using state money for bottled water.
Rottenberg said he thought the groundwork was in place for an official ban of bottled water sales on the UO campus as well.
“There is a fair amount of educational necessity when it comes to this issue, as far as just explaining to someone the overall energy consumption of bottled water,” Rottenberg said.
“It’s not just the garbage produced by throwing away a bottle; it’s the manufacturing and production of the bottle to begin with, the transportation of the empty bottles before they’re filled with water, the extraction of local water sources, and then the transport of the bottles once they’ve been filled. So there’s a whole life cycle issue when it comes to bottled water that needs to be addressed as the University looks to reduce its energy consumption.”
Kaplan and Rottenberg are frustrated by what they say are bureaucratic obstacles to a
dramatic but necessary change in policies.
“What I often times see with the University of Oregon is once someone else has done it, it’s OK for us to do it, too,” Rottenberg said. “I think the administration likes to say, ‘Well, someone else has done it and it worked for them, so it’s safe for us to do, too.’ I say, let’s take some chances and make some change.”
 
The Petition’s Text
To the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (university student government),
I pledge to lead the way by choosing tap water and reusable containers over the bottled brands whenever possible. I ask that student senators, as my representatives, do not fund the purchase of bottled water with my student fees.
Tap water is a better choice than bottled water. In supporting tap water, I am supporting:
• Sustainable living — Bottled water wastes 2,000 times as much energy as tap water, and 85 percent of bottles are not recycled.
• Saving student money — Bottled water costs more than gasoline; at $2 for a 20-ounce bottle, it costs more than $12 a gallon.
• Saving energy — A 20-ounce bottle of water requires about one-third its volume in oil for manufacture, transportation, and disposal.
• Cleaner water — Tap water is rigorously regulated by the EPA and held to a much higher standard than bottled water.
• Good health — Disposable plastic bottles leech harmful, carcinogenic chemicals into water.
Because tap water is a better choice than the bottled brands — For our health, our environment, and our wallets — I am asking the ASUO (student government) not to use my student fees to fund bottled water.
The University of Oregon must live up to its reputation as an institution committed to sustainable living. We want long-term solutions for our growing water problems. If
re-investing in America’s water systems is going to become a national priority, it has to start somewhere. We want to start at home, on our campus.
I’m asking you to join me, and help us take back the tap at the University of Oregon.
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