Plastic water bottles banished from campus for Sustainability Week
Photo by Steve Johnson from Pexels
A plastic water bottle by the windowsill.
February 14, 2022
Walking into the school cafeteria and buying a water bottle to quench your thirst is something most students do every day. However, most students do not realize the amount of plastic they are using.
The sustainability committee did research to find how many plastic water bottles students are using per week. They collected research and found that Kinkaid is using up to 3,000 water bottles per week.
The committee decided to take action to reduce the use of plastic water bottles and announced that, starting the week of Feb. 7, they would be removed from the coolers in the Dining Center.
After hearing the news, students had mixed reactions. Students began using styrofoam cups to get water.
“I am annoyed because styrofoam cups are even worse,” sophomore Read Liuzzi said.
There are also many people who are appreciative of the water bottles being taken away.
“I am happy the water bottles were taken away because the amount of plastic we use a week is absurd and very bad for our environment,” junior Hunter Masterson said.
As the first week of the water bottle ban came to a close, junior Mia Price, co-president of the sustainability committee, spoke about the comments and results of the water bottle ban, especially since there have been many concerns about the increased use of styrofoam cups because of the ban.
“The cafeteria only has styrofoam cups right now because of a supply chain issue with paper cups,” Price said.
Overall, the committee was successful in removing the plastic water bottles from the shelves; however, plastic sports drinks, juices, and other items still remain.
“Our goal is instead to see if there are any major problems with eliminating plastic water bottles so that we can fix them and hopefully permanently eliminate bottles in the future.”
