We have been taught growing up to reduce, reuse and recycle, but did we ever stop to think what actually happens to the bottles or where they end up? The production, distribution and disposal of plastic water bottles harm the environment. Bottled water is a waste to consumers, considering the quality of tap water, especially in Ames. We need to consider these important issues in order to make Iowa State a sustainable and green environment. If we could ban the sale of bottled water on campus, we could greatly reduce the environmental impact and costs to the university.

The average American consumes 197 bottles of water (16.9 oz.) per year, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation. Iowa State has a population of 32,243, including students and staff, which amounts to about 6.3 million bottles of water per year. According to the Container Recycling Institute in Washington, D.C., 86 percent of plastic water bottles in the United States become waste in landfills or litter. Ames does have an incinerator to burn garbage but cannot handle the amount of plastic due to the chemicals and toxins released. Therefore, the bottles are taken to landfills where they take up valuable space, release toxins into the soil, and take between 400 and 1,000 years to degrade.

In addition to the physical breakdown of the water bottles that contaminate the soil and water supply, the pollution caused by the production and transportation of the water bottles is another environmental concern. The production and transportation from companies to consumers and from consumers to landfills requires a significant amount of oil and contaminates our atmosphere with greenhouse gases, especially when the bottles are being shipped from other countries.

A ban on bottled water would not only support the Live Green! Campaign at Iowa State, but it would also save costs for the population of the University. According to the city of Ames, the cost of water is 1 cent per six gallons, which makes 45 bottles of tap water equivalent to the cost of one water bottle on campus. Not only is water cheap in Ames, but it has the highest water quality in Iowa as it recently placed first in a statewide competition held at the annual Iowa American Water Works Association Conference.

To replace the convenience of plastic water bottles, reusable aluminum bottles could be given to students at orientation or available to students and staff around campus for a low price. For future convenience, the university could look into installing refilling stations that would make it easier to refill reusable bottles than using the standard drinking fountains throughout campus. Implementing an idea such as banning the sale of bottled water could make Iowa State a distinguished example for other institutions to follow.

Joe Curran and Nick Fanthorpe

Juniors

Community and regional planning