Aug. 20, 2019
Effective Sept. 1, 2019, Douglas College will no longer be selling bottled water in its vending machines or cafeterias across all campuses. The ban demonstrates the College’s commitment to environmental sustainability, reducing its carbon footprint and water conservation.
The initiative comes in response to a survey of the College community in which 92 percent of respondents strongly supported removing single-use plastic bottles of water from vending machines and cafeterias across all Douglas College campuses.
In anticipation of this change, the College has increased the number of bottle filling stations across campuses. Five new water stations were added in 2018 and seven more were added or upgraded in 2019.
Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to bring their own reusable bottle and make use of the filling stations rather than purchasing single-use bottles of water. The College will also be selling reusable bottles at the Bookstores and in select vending machines located at the Coquitlam, New Westminster and Anvil Office Tower Campuses beginning Sept. 1.
“Last year, 32,000 bottles of water were sold at the College,” said Andrew Hodgson, Manager of Facilities Services at Douglas College. “We understand our responsibility to encourage environmentally sustainable initiatives in pursuit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By eliminating the sale of single-use plastic water bottles and increasing access to fresh, cold water at water-fill stations across all campuses, we’re helping to keep plastic out of landfills and reducing resources used in production, transportation and recycling of single-use plastics.”
Douglas College joins Canadian Universities such as the University of Ottawa, University of Victoria, Trent, McGill and Queens Universities, all of whom have eliminated single-use bottled water and encouraged their communities to return to drinking tap water.
Douglas College is the largest degree-granting college in B.C., combining the academic foundations of a university and the employer-ready skills of a college to provide the most relevant and inspiring undergraduate experience in British Columbia.
For more information, visit douglascollege.ca
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Contact
Maia Odegaard
Communications Coordinator
604 527 5806
odegaardm@douglascollege.ca