UW student group seeks ban on plastic products by 2025
WATERLOO — A University of Waterloo student group wants to ban the sale of plastic on campus by 2025, first taking aim at the plastic straw.
“It is a super wasteful use of plastic,” said Abigail Shingler, third-year geography and environmental management student.
The Waterloo Association of Geography Students started a petition on change.org and is planning initiatives in its quest to get rid of single-use plastics.
They want to make UW a leader in sustainability by eliminating the sale of wasteful plastics such as water bottles, plastic bags, straws and unnecessary packaging.
“We’re a little behind in terms of single-use plastics,” said Shingler, an executive board member of the group.
First they’ll focus on straws and then expand to plastic water bottles and takeout containers. The goal is to get students to think about what they’re consuming, and provide other options that are more environment friendly.
“It is important to consider what you’re using,” Shingler said.
The group is hosting a plasticfree lemonade stand on campus later this month where people can buy stainless steel straws with a cleaner brush at a minimal cost, and the plan is to hold one every term.
Next they want to approach food services about straws, and make reusable ones more readily available on campus.
“It’s super easy to switch the items you use on a daily basis,” Shingler said.
She points to the University of Guelph, which is way ahead on curbing plastic on campus.
Starting this fall, hospitality services will no longer provide plastic straws or single-use plastic bags at its in-house dining and retail operations — a change the university reports remove an estimated 155,000 plastic bags and 175,000 plastic straws from landfills every year.
“We know that it is possible,” Shingler said of reducing plastic use.
If more consumers shun plastic, then businesses will change, too, she said.
And every little change adds up. Considering a plastic bottle hangs around in landfill for at least 450 years, a person’s choices every day add up.
“One water bottle does make a big difference.”