“Green” is everywhere at Portland State. Signs on the Portland Streetcar read “Green is more than our school color, it is our school spirit.” That green school spirit PSU prides itself on needs to start taking notes from University of Portland, the first West Coast campus to ban the sale of plastic water bottles.
UP deserves a big pat on the back for this move. And PSU, the supposed “green” school, needs to step up their game and follow in UP’s footsteps.
Water is an important resource and something everyone needs. Just drinking water is not the only thing one needs to do to be healthy. It is important to know where the water comes from and how you are consuming it.
To all the paranoid people who disagree with the ban because they’ll have to use tap water—get over yourselves! If you think you are being smarter by refusing tap water and going with the bottle then think again.
Tap water is more regulated that bottled water. According to www.foodandwaterwatch.org, tap water is tested hundreds of times every month, as opposed to bottled water’s requirement to only be tested once a week.
The production and transportation of bottled water contributes to global climate change because nearly 86 percent of plastic water bottles ends up in landfills. It takes 2,000 times more energy to produce bottled water than it does tap water.
If you still complain about the lack of cleanliness with tap water, then buy a filter! And before you say it is expensive, think about the following. Bottled water costs up to 1,000 times more than tap water and it costs consumers anywhere between $0.89 to $8.26 per gallon, whereas tap water costs $0.002 per gallon.
Think about the environment. Is it really worth that one bottle of water to destroy the planet? Well it is not just one bottle: It is estimated that Americans purchase 29.8 billion plastic water bottles a year according to www.earth911.com. Less than one percent of all plastics are recycled.
So what can you do? You can either use your own plastic bottle that you reuse or, preferably, use a metal one. Since UP stopped selling plastic water bottles, they are selling the metal ones for $4.
How many plastic water bottles could you buy at PSU out of the vending machines for $4? A little more than two-and-a-half. It makes more sense to buy a metal water bottle for $4 once than to keep buying bottled water at $1.50 every single time.
This is a good first step. UP is still selling juice and soda in plastic bottles. Ultimately the best solution to the plastic bottle problem is to ban selling plastic water bottles and limit the sale of plastic bottles with those beverages that do not come out of the sink.
If campuses still want to sell water, they can—just sell it in those metal bottles. If they still want to sell soda and juices, go for it! The ideal situation would be that juices and soda would be sold out of fountains with biodegradable cups (like the cups Freshëns uses for its smoothies and yogurts).
Portland State, follow in the footsteps of those at UP. They have laid down the groundwork and provided a good example, now let’s support the cause: the planet.