Responsible Purchasing Network

Bottled Water University Edition: Overview

Environmental Benefit:
Using figures provided by WUSTL and RPN’s bottled water calculator, WUSTL’s ban will save 331,992 bottles of water annually, which accounts for:

  • 103,074 gallons of water just for production and purification = water used by 35 people in a month
  • 62, 249 lbs. of CO2 to make plastic bottles = 5 cars off the road for a year
  • 8, 231 gallons of oil to produce plastic bottles = one 18-wheeler tanker
  • 33, 296 megajoules of energy =  one household for a year

Washington University in St. Louis

In early 2009, Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) became the first college in the United States to end the sale of bottled water.   The administration began and implemented the initiative, but also worked in conjunction with a student led educational campaign.

  • University officials mapped all drinking fountains and about 70 were upgraded or fixed.
  • Contract with Coca-Cola allowed for the discontinued sales of bottled water without alteration.
  • Bottled water was pulled from all dining locations in January of 2009 and on-campus stores two months later.
  • Bottled water in vending machines was substituted with other drinks.
  • Student-led “Tap It” campaign showcased the safety and quality of tap water in St. Louis with several tap water challenge events.

University of Winnipeg

In March of 2009, The University of Winnipeg (UW) became the first Canadian school to ban the sale and provision of bottled water through a student referendum.

  • Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), a national student union, declared water a major campaign priority.
  • A broad coalition of local groups in Winnipeg and on-campus environmental organizations was formed.
  • The campaign received support from the Campus Sustainability Office and President of UW, Dr. Lloyd Axworthy.
  • Students passed a referendum in March 2009 to terminate its beverage contract and the university announced a progressive phase out of bottled water, which paralleled upgrades in water infrastructure.

Example of a water fountain at UW that has been upgraded to include a spigot for use with reusable bottles.

Photo courtesy of David Jacks.


Creative Commons License This work by the Responsible Purchasing Network is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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