Communities and campuses, including Brock, will mobilize on March 10 for Bottled Water Free Day.<\/p>\n
Brock staff, faculty and students all have their own goals for the second annual day.<\/p>\n
Iain Glass, director of food services, said Brock Dining Services plans the following initiatives:<\/p>\n
Bottled Water Free Day<\/a> is co-ordinated by the Canadian Federation of Students<\/a>, the Polaris Institute, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Development and Peace and the Sierra Youth Coalition.<\/p>\n Some participants are seeking a complete ban of the sale of privatized bottled water on Canadian campuses. They are asking college and university administrations to promote investment in accessible public water infrastructure.<\/p>\n In Canada, more than 81 municipalities, seven school boards and nine campuses have committed to ending the privatization of water and phasing out the provision and sale of bottled water.<\/p>\n In February, the University of Canberra became the first university in Australia to ban bottled water sales. It has a campus population of almost 13,000 students and staff.<\/p>\n Richard Mitchell, associate professor of Child and Youth Studies<\/a>, is a proponent of banning plastic water bottles at Brock. He is the academic co-chair of Brock’s Sustainability Co-ordinating Committee and a researcher with the Brock Environmental Sustainability Research Unit<\/a> (BESRU).<\/p>\n \u201cI support the ban of plastic water bottles on campus and will continue in my role with both of these Brock groups to achieve this,\u201d said Mitchell.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile I speak only in terms of my own research activities and perspectives, and not on behalf of either of these larger Brock entities, I support a full plastic water bottle ban in the same way as Memorial and Ryerson Universities, U. of Winnipeg and U. of Ottawa have already achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n