San Diego State’s environmental student organization the Enviro-Business Society, or E3, is beginning an educational campaign against the use and sale of plastic water bottles on campus. The campaign is meant to further increase SDSU’s reputation as an environmentally sustainable campus.
This student-run, nonprofit organization was created in 2005 by a group of business students interested in integrating aspects of environmental sustainability into the business world. Throughout the years, E3 has made changes to the campus, with a creation of a bike lane, hosting Thursday farmers markets and banning the use of Styrofoam products in Aztec Shops. The organization has now shifted its attention to the issue of plastic water bottles.
According to Tapit, an organization promoting the use of tap water, 70 percent of plastic water bottles are not recycled.
“They either end up in the landfills or oceans,” E3 member Patrick Murphy said. “It’s so wasteful to make them and it has become engrained in people’s daily lives. If you always have a reusable bottle with you, you won’t need that.”
Members of E3 hope to tackle this issue by using a long-term, step-by-step approach, focusing mainly on education.
“Our first goal is to educate students and throw facts at them instead of products. We want to explain why they should care and why we’re making such a big deal about it,” Murphy said.
This semester, tabling E3 members at the farmers market asked students to collect plastic water bottles. In exchange for 10 bottles, students receive a free reusable water bottle from the organization.
“It’s much less wasteful for the environment and it’s much less wasteful for your wallet,” Murphy said.
Collection is a direct way for students to participate with the campaign and support a sustainable cause. E3 plans to further use these bottles for educational purposes.
“We’re going to use all the collected bottles for a big display on campus during Earth Week. We have hundreds already and we’re still looking for more,” Murphy said.
After providing information to the students, E3 will try to get the university involved with the project.
“We want reusable water bottles to be given to people moving into the dorms or people that go to orientation. It gives that perspective that SDSU is trying to make a difference, trying to be sustainable,” Murphy said.
The final part of the campaign is to petition to eliminate the sale of plastic water bottles in Aztec Markets and Dining Services. This ban will be a long-term goal for the organization and will take some time before it can be considered.
Murphy explained that there needs to be a long-term approach in order for the campaign to be successful.
“If you just start getting rid of them right away, everyone will not understand. The change has to start with education on the issue.”
If any students wish to participate in the campaign, E3 has a table at the Thursday farmers markets and conducts monthly meetings. Its focus is not only limited to water bottles, but includes any issue regarding sustainability.
