Abstract
Plastic waste represents one of the largest environmental problems of the modern era and disposable water bottles comprise a substantial portion of that waste in the U.S. Colleges are in a unique position to create systems that foster sustainable behaviors among their constituents. Since 2015, Allegheny College has installed water refill stations, and initiated a free water bottle program and an awareness campaign to reduce single-use bottles on the college’s campus. Two surveys were distributed to the student body between 2018 and 2019 to assess the efficacy of those initiatives and learn about any barriers. Bottled water use has reduced significantly since 2014, with the majority of students stating that they most commonly drink water from refill stations while on campus. Demographic factors like income, sex, or place of origin were not related to the amount of bottled water consumption or type of water preference among students. The primary barrier to students eliminating disposable water bottle use was found to be a lack of water refill stations in dormitories. Research aimed at changing behaviors to benefit the environment should consider the barrier of convenience. This research provides a valuable lesson that can extend beyond college campuses and into public settings.
Highlights
José Delgado-Algarra, Plastic waste is ubiquitous around the world, with its myriad types and forms being found in freshwater systems, the oceans, the soil, and even floating in the air [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
Disposable bottled water usage among Allegheny students declined substantially among all class years between 2014 and 2019 in the aftermath of three sustainability initiatives: the installation of additional filtered water refill stations across campus, the institution of a free water bottle give away initiative that targeted incoming first year students, and the outreach of an education campaign aimed at providing information about the safety of Meadville, PA tap water, and the negative implications of disposable water bottles
Reducing the usage of single-use plastics is a crucial necessity for a world already inundated with plastic waste that is causing untold damage to wildlife, ecosystems, and potentially even to human health
Summary
José Delgado-Algarra, Plastic waste is ubiquitous around the world, with its myriad types and forms being found in freshwater systems, the oceans, the soil, and even floating in the air [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Plastics in the environment eventually break down into smaller and smaller pieces through processes of physical degradation, mechanical abrasion, and photo-degradation, but plastic can persist in these progressively smaller pieces for thousands of years [9,10,11,12]. The smallest of these pieces comprise a category of plastics known as microplastics—pieces, particles, and fibers less than 5 mm in size [7,13,14,15,16]. Once released into the environment, plastics negatively affect organisms throughout aquatic [7,13,16,19,20,21,22,23]
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