The Gustavus Greens, a student organization whose goal is to promote environmental sustainability on campus, is working to remove plastic water bottles from Gustavus. In trying to imagine what a more environmentally-friendly Gustavus would look like, the Greens decided to focus on the issue of plastic water bottles and their impact.

The topic of plastic water bottles was chosen for a variety of reasons. First, it is not unheard of for a college to implement a “no bottled water bottle” policy. The College of St. Benedict and Macalester College are just two of the fourteen colleges in the U.S. and Canada who have taken such steps.

Second, there are many humanitarian and ethical questions that are raised by the sale and privatization of water, such as whether or not clean drinking water is a basic human right and how humans profit from exploiting natural resources and selling them back to the very people who owned them in the first place. These are just a few questions among many that the Gustavus Greens are considering on the issue.

“I’ve always thought it was backwards that we sell plastic water bottles at Gustavus, especially considering the fact that our Nobel Conference a few years ago was about water and how it is a finite resource that we need to conserve. Yet we continue to let these sales happen,” Junior English Major Julia Tindell said.

Many students are in favor of this change to a plastic bottle-free campus.

“I would be thrilled to see plastic bottles leave the campus. I know it’s not that simple, but plastic contributes to such a culture of disposability, and disposing of plastic is much more complicated than we make it out to be,” Senior Individualized Major Ben Batz said.

While many people are in favor of this idea, it may be a hard habit to break for some students.

“I have to admit that I’m one of those people who buys a water bottle when I’m on the go, but I can see how reducing the number of water bottles we sell would be beneficial. I think the main point is changing our campus’s mentality rather than reducing the availability,” Junior Communication Studies Major Chad Pena said.

In order to get a better understanding for how the student body feels about this idea, the Kitchen Cabinet, Dining Services’ advisory board, is looking into the topic. The Greens also plan on holding an open forum for faculty, staff and students to share their opinions.

“We want this effort to be a campus-wide endeavor that not only broadens our perspective to a global level, but also makes students think about how their purchases affect both people and the environment,” Junior Anthropology Major and Greens Co-President Kristina Fosse said.

Individuals interested in sharing their opinion on the matter or getting involved are invited to join the Greens for their weekly meetings, Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. in the Gustie Den or to contact Greens Co-President Kristina Fosse at kfosse@gustavus.edu.