Dining
Services Unveils New Aluminum Water Bottle
Get your new aluminum Smith College water bottle at
Chapin Grab-and-Go. |
Last year at this time,
Smith’s dining services joined
a national movement to steer consumers away from buying and
immediately discarding bottled water by introducing college-customized
water bottles. The bottles, colored a deep, Smith blue, became
a popular tote-along among students and others, with their
convenient carrying loops, and replaced bottled water at
the Chapin Grab-and-Go.
Students lauded the elimination of the wasteful commercial
plastic water bottles. All students were appreciative that
they could carry a water bottle with them throughout the
day. This August, dining services has taken the carry-along
water bottle a step further with the unveiling of a bright
orange or blue, aluminum bottle with a solid, flat bottom
and easy-to-use screw top.
Last year’s blue water bottles were a welcome innovation,
notes Ann Finley, area manager with dining services. But
recently, there has been a great deal of concern regarding
water bottles made from polycarbonate (PBA), she said. Dining
services heard about those issues and responded. The new
aluminum bottles feature a sport bottle top with a cap, a
space to label it with the owner’s name, and the message: “Use
it and Resuse it, the Earth is the bottom line.”.
The intent—as it was with the old blue, plastic bottles—is
for students and others on campus to use the aluminum bottles
repeatedly, not to throw them away. Additionally, the aluminum
bottles support the college’s sustainability efforts
and eliminate waste.
Still nationally, despite
recycling campaigns and efforts, millions of plastic bottles
continue to be discarded and hauled to landfills and incinerators
every day. Millions of discarded bottles collect in the world’s
oceans and wash together into giant plastic islands (one
twice the size of Texas), threatening marine life and polluting
beaches.
So students should pick up a new aluminum water bottle,
fill it up from the tap, and help reduce the proliferation
of plastic.
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