Niagara College Canada
IN-2: Innovation 2

In September 2012, Niagara College banned the sale of bottled water on campus. The initiative initially stemmed from staff recommendations at the 2012 Day of Reflection and was approved by the Executive Team in July. The Sustainability Committee supports this as banning bottled water has the obvious benefit of reducing waste from plastic bottles and supports the notion that everyone has the right – not the privilege – to clean drinking water, and it should not be sold as a commodity. The staff members at Niagara College were honoured to have Maude Barlow as a key note speaker at the 2012 Day of Reflection. As the National Chair of the Council of Canadians, Maude spoke to the global water crisis and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. During a brainstorming session following Maude’s address, Niagara College staff members were tasked with coming up with ideas how to make Niagara College more sustainable. The overwhelming response was to ban bottled water. Over the summer the Sustainability Committee explored options and concluded that banning the sale of bottled water on campus was something that needed to be done. In July it was approved by the Executive Team and the bottled water was no longer available as of September 1, 2012. To ensure all students and employees have access to clean, free drinking water, the Welland campus has installed a total of 16 hydrations stations and 8 water spigots have been retrofitted on to existing fountains. At the Niagara-on-the-Lake campus, two hydration stations have been installed and 10 spigots have been retrofitted on to existing fountains. All new students and employees are provided a re-usable water bottle. Niagara College also has an ongoing campaign titled “BYOrB” (bring your own reusable bottle), which is aimed at education students and employees about the quality of drinking water in Ontario, including the Safe Drinking Water Act as well as other negative environmental, social and economic impacts related to the sale of bottled water.