<p>^^ It probably has less environmental impact. But I’m saying that the “huge” part isn’t true. You’d do far better for the enviro by convincing China to stop burning dirty coal than convincing everyone to stop buying bottled water.</p>
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<p>[‘How</a> Bad For The Environment Can Throwing Away One Plastic Bottle Be?’ 30 Million People Wonder | The Onion - America’s Finest News Source](<a href=“http://www.theonion.com/articles/how-bad-for-the-environment-can-throwing-away-one,2892/]'How”>'How Bad For The Environment Can Throwing Away One Plastic Bottle Be?' 30 Million People Wonder)</p>
<p>^^…Seriously? That’s like saying “Well, we can’t raise enough money to buy these orphans new toys, so let’s not raise any money at all.” Anything positive is better than nothing positive.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I’m completely pro for this. I get the message it’s trying to send but at the same time there’s something ridiculous about it. If they’re banning water bottles they might as well ban all beverages since their container is also made of plastic. Not to mention ban snack machines because of the wrapper.</p>
<p>The Hydration Station costs money to keep and maintain. And it doesn’t really seem like there’s a fee for it since it’s a water station. So now with water bottle vending machines gone, how is the school going to get money? And if they start charging why would I want to use it when I could easily go to a water fountain or sink and fill it for free? I could also just leave campus and buy water bottles to put in my dorm.</p>
<p>I doubt the plan will work as good as they help for. If not good for them. Also it’s 14 colleges in both America and Canada. That’s not actually a lot when compared to the number of colleges both countries have.</p>
<p>I went to school in NYC, where the tap water was absolutely amazing and I was rarely tempted to buy bottled water. However, my school was one of the first to ban bottled water sales and after a few months I just found it absolutely absurd. I completely understand and support the idea behind this practice–there’s no doubt that decreasing the amount of plastic bottles manufactured and disposed of is good for the environment–but there are so many problems with it, at least the way it is now.</p>
<p>The water filling stations at our school, for instance, were glorified drinking fountains and were often broken, or too far away from the classrooms. If you didn’t have the money to buy a fancy Nalgene bottle or the space to carry it, all you could do is ask for a plastic cup from the cafe, and they wouldn’t even fill it with tap water–they made you walk up five floors to the nearest working station. I dealt with this one day when I was incredibly sick but had to go to class. I had forgotten to bring water with me and was coughing and dehydrated, but didn’t have time to go to the store…by the time I finally got my cup of water I was exhausted, late to class, and finished it within five minutes and couldn’t go get another. </p>
<p>But the absolute worst part of banning bottled water is that every single cafe that does this still carries about five fruit-flavored “waters,” seltzer, and ten to twenty different types of juice and soda. If you’re going to ban one bottled drink, please at least have the consciousness to ban them all!</p>
<p>Also, to LakeWashington:</p>
<p>Yes, it’s a shame how many fountains in parks seem to be broken constantly. Almost all parks also turn the fountains off between about September/October and May/June, so if you’re ever thirsty in seasons other than summer, forget it! As for the taste, I think in a park the dirty/rusty taste is something you’ve just gotta get used to. Hard to keep the pipes and tanks clean…</p>
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<p>Is that because bottled water has become so popular that no one drinks from the taps any more? The implications may be that clean tap water infrastructure will be allowed to decay to the point that you must buy bottled water or boil the tap water to drink or brush your teeth (and then you wonder if, after washing your hands in the unsafe tap water, your hands are really clean).</p>
<p>As far as availability of “hydration stations”, when I went to school, there were water fountains in every floor of every building.</p>
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<p>And how much coal would China stop burning if it had clean tap water infrastructure so that the people there did not have to boil the tap water before drinking it or brushing their teeth with it, or buy bottled water for that purpose?</p>
<p>Sorry, the envionmental cost and hydrocarbon issues associated with producing and trucking water bottles to the water supplier, then trucking filled bottles to sales sites is estimable. By folks who know more about this than most posters. Add the costs of processing landfill. The amount of plastics that make their way into recycled goods is tiny. Why wait for China to make a move? </p>
<p>Plus, whose pockets are you lining when you buy that bottled water? Not to mention that one bottle bought/day could add up to $500+ annually. All that for some purported “freedom of choice?” Make wise choices. It’s getting easier.</p>
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<p>They’re less than $10. Even if you buy a bottle of water once a month for a year, they’ve paid for themselves. It’s much, MUCH cheaper to buy a one time purchase of a water bottle (even if you get a fancy water bottle with a filter AND a chiller in it) than to buy a water bottle even once a week.</p>
<p>I think the hydration stations are an awesome idea. Buying bottle of water (at around $1-6 a pop, depending on which brand you buy) gets EXPENSIVE. A Nalgene bottle (or any other bottle, really. I use a metal one which keeps water cold for ages and doesn’t give it a funny taste) is a real cost saver in the long run.</p>
<p>Perhaps I should’ve said aluminum? I remember bottles being upwards of $30. I never have room in my purse for a bottle that size–I have a small one, but always forget to take it. Like one or two have mentioned, I normally buy one plastic bottle and refill it for months, unless I’m in a pinch (like when I’m sick).</p>
<p>ucb: Unfortunately the parks turning off the taps is more a matter of practicality–they turn them off in cold weather to prevent pipes freezing, which can cause serious damage. I don’t think demand for park drinking fountains will ever diminish.</p>
<p>Also, I still approve of “hydration stations,” I just think bottled water should still be offered…at least of soda is as well.</p>
<p>I got aluminum water bottles for approx $3 a pop (from Costco). It came with a nice insulating sleeve as well.</p>
<p>$30 for a aluminum water bottle seems extremely high.</p>
<p>Stainless steel bottles can be pricey, depending on from where they are bought. I got a bottle from Klean Kanteen, and I didn’t find the purchase worth it. I only really use bottles for water, so I don’t think leaching with other materials is a concern.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind somethng that is relatively heavy, then you could go with glass bottles.</p>
<p>I look for Nantucket Nectars to go on sale for a dollar each and then buy a bottle at the supermarket. I usually dilute the juice and drink it over a period of several days or get the kids to drink it. I then wash the glass bottle and use it to store chilled water (filtered from the tap) in the refrigerator. I sometimes bring several bottles, along with my Nalgene 32-oz bottle to the tennis court. The downside is that the caps eventually lose their ability to seal the bottle completely - not a problem if you always keep it upright but certainly a problem if you just want to toss it in your gym bag.</p>
<p>In the college situation, I would think that the college could get a few sponsors to pay for a bottle for each student. One of my water bottles has Sprint advertising on it. We have phone and insurance companies that come in and set up a table in the cafeteria from time to time with trinkets, including water bottles. I would think that you could get phone or clothing or sneaker companies to pay for water bottles with their logos on them. My son has received water bottles at career fairs too with company logos on them.</p>
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<p>I’d imagine most schools have more important sources of income than water bottle vending machines.</p>
<p>It appears that I am the only person who… reuses plastic bottles…</p>
<p>I’ve tried reusing plastic bottles but the narrow necks make them particularly difficult to clean and I use them in settings where they can go moldy (hot and humid weather). It’s nice to be able to use a brush or sponge to clean the inside, threads and top and cap thoroughly every once in a while.</p>
<p>Ooh, Whale, depending on whether you look at environmental sites or plastics mfg sites, there is concern that chemicals that can leach from ordinary plastic water bottles after repeated use. I suspect some of this has been improved over the past few years, but it got my attention.</p>
<p>I don’t like outright bans on anything, but having both wouldn’t bother me.</p>
<p>The only problem I see is that when I worked at a large company, they had water fountains throughout the facility and over time they just forgot to change the filters and make sure everything was in working order. People started finding pieces of plastic like material in their cup or mouths-- it was pieces of the old filter breaking down and nobody knew how long it had been since it had been changed-- yuck!</p>