Sale of bottled water to be phased out at McGill

McGill University is making the move to phase out the sale of bottled water on campus.

The McGill Office of Sustainability, which is leading the charge towards a greener campus, argues that bottled water comes at a heavy price.

Not only do the water bottles generate a lot of waste — most of which is not recycled — but three litres of water goes into the production of just one litre of bottled water, according to a statement posted by the sustainability office.

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Students, faculty and staff are being encouraged to BYOB — that is to bring their own reusable bottles.

To make the transition easier, the university will install 25 new water fountains at convenient locations at both the downtown and Macdonald campuses, while existing fountains will be retrofitted to make refilling bottles quicker and easier.

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The office says it will also work with partners to ensure events held on university grounds have the necessary tools at their disposal to reduce or eliminate the distribution of bottled water during McGill events.

One solution includes the use of a mobile water kiosk, that organizers can rent for outdoor events. The kiosk provides filtered water, free of charge, to anyone with a refillable container.

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Consultants are also available to help organize activities that are more environmentally friendly, as well as inclusive and accessible.

According to the sustainability office’s website, the drive to ban bottled water on campus stems not only from environmental concerns, but socio-economic issues as well.

“Clean, free drinking water is a basic human right, it should not be bought and sold as a commodity.”

The ban comes into effect May 1, 2019.