1. Resolution Calling to Ban the Selling of Plastic Water Bottles at UC San Diego
WHEREAS, one of the values of University of California, San Diego (UCSD) is to create an environment
and a culture where “sustainability… [is the core principle] guiding our activities.” ;1
WHEREAS, sustainability is one of the four core principles guiding UCSD ;2
WHEREAS, UCSD is a research based institute, including the Scripps Institution of Oceanography whose
“mission is to seek, teach, and communicate scientific understanding of the oceans, atmosphere, Earth,
and other planets for the benefit of society and the environment.” ;3
WHEREAS, UCSD strategizes to “[Understand] and [Protect] the Planet” by recommending necessary
policy changes to achieve the goals of “[advancing] the frontiers of knowledge, [shaping] new fields, and
[disseminating] discoveries that transform lives.”​2​
;
WHEREAS, The University of California (“The University”) states in the Sustainable Practices policy4
that they:
● Aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025;
● Will commit to “responsible stewardship of resources and to demonstrating leadership in
sustainable business practices”;
● Will prioritize “waste reduction in the following order: reduce, reuse, and then recycle” by
diverting municipal solid waste to achieve zero waste by 2020;
● Will use its purchasing power to maximize procurement of environmentally preferable products;
● Strive for source reduction as the highest form of resource recovery method as it “eliminates the
products from being manufactured or transported in the first place”;
WHEREAS, UCSD recognizes its role as “a leader in the community with regard to environmental
policies and… demonstrates its intention to ensure responsible stewardship of the environmental
resources” with the goals of:5
● Reducing waste at the source;
● Increasing the total volume of waste materials diverted from landfills to recycling processes;
● Ensuring the long term viability of campus recycling operations through appropriate educational
programs;
WHEREAS, the goal of the UCSD Climate Action Plan is to “reduce the total emissions from the life
cycle of materials purchased, used, and discarded on campus” and to develop a long-term Zero Water
Strategy and review and revise the strategy as needed ;6
1
​http://plan.ucsd.edu/documents/uc-san-diego-mvg.pdf
2
​http://plan.sdsc.edu/documents/Exec-Summary-Strategic-Plan.pdf
3
​https://scripps.ucsd.edu/about/mission-and-quick-facts
4
​http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/3100155/SustainablePractices
5
​http://adminrecords.ucsd.edu/ppm/docs/530-10.html
6
​http://sustainability.ucsd.edu/_files/UCSD_Climate_Action_Plan_12-08.pdf

2. WHEREAS, the Climate Action Plan acknowledges that bottled water is considered “a highly wasteful
practice, considering… bottled water does not have better quality than local tap water…” and hence,
suggested​5​
:
● Implementing the installations of “new water fountains and water distribution stations to reduce
the need for bottled water”;
● Obtaining “a commitment from the administration to allow all bottled water contracts to expire…
[as] the first step toward eliminating bottled water from campus”;
WHEREAS, the UCSD Solid Waste Diversion Plan states that Housing, Dining, and Hospitality (HDH)7
will:
● Eliminate plastic water bottles and sources for reusables;
● Evaluate all suppliers for sustainability and waste reduction in policy and operations;
WHEREAS, the Water Action Plan and “the water conservation and water efficiency strategies” shall
acknowledge best practices being implemented currently ;8
WHEREAS, the reduction of plastic waste on UC San Diego’s campus fits into the missions and values
above;
WHEREAS, the UCSD Student Sustainability Collective “I’d Tap That” Plastic Bottled Water Ban
campaign will help meet the goals of the climate action plan referenced above;
WHEREAS, although plastic waste reduction is not limited to bottled water, eliminating the sale of
bottled water on campus is a feasible and responsible step in the reduction process;
WHEREAS, the sale of bottled water on the UCSD campus contributes negatively to our overall
environmental impact;
WHEREAS, bottled water produces environmental damages:
● The U.S. drank 9 billion gallons of bottled water in 2008, at an average of 30 gallons per person ;9
● Americans throw away about 38 billion plastic water bottles every year ;10
● The manufacture of every ton of PET produces around 3 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Bottling
water thus created more than 2.5 million tons of CO2 in 2006 ;11
● In the state of California, about 2,500 tons of global warming pollution was created in 2006 when
18 million gallons of bottled water were shipped in from Fiji ;12
● Only 13 percent of recyclable bottles end up being recycled. In 2005, 2 millions tons of plastic
water bottles that did not get recycled ended up clogging landfills​11​
;
7
​http://ucop.edu/sustainability/_files/ucsd-waste-diversion-and-recycling-plan.pdf
8
​http://aquaholics.ucsd.edu/_files/ucsustainablewatersystemspolicy.pdf
9
​http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126833795
10
​https://www.banthebottle.net/bottled-water-facts/
11
​http://pacinst.org/publication/bottled-water-and-energy-a-fact-sheet/
12
​http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qbw.asp

3. ● Every second, the US consumes 1500 water bottles ;13
● Plastic is listed as the number one threat to our marine ecosystem ;14
WHEREAS, bottled water requires significantly more energy and material inputs to produce than does tap
water:
● According to the plastics manufacturing industry, it takes around 3.4 megajoules of energy to
make a typical one-liter plastic bottle, cap, and packaging ;15
● Producing the bottles for American consumption required the equivalent of more than 17 million
barrels of oil, not including the energy for transportation​14​
;
● It takes about 1-3 liters to make one liter of bottled water ;16
● About 90% of the cost of bottled water is due to the packaging, not the water quality;
● Plastic bottles may be BPA-free but there are additional harmful, hormone-disrupting chemicals
(e.g. phthalates) in the bottles that can seep into the drink ;17
● Manufacturing and filling the plastic water bottles, on average wastes 30-40% of the water
involved in the process ;18
● It takes oil to produce bottled water. The production of bottled water requires 17 million barrels
of oil each year ​
;
19
WHEREAS, global water scarcities have produced human rights implications:
● One in four people worldwide do not have enough safe drinking water while corporations exploit
the world water crisis to drive public water into corporate hands for private use (i.e. packaging of
water bottles) ;20
● The United Nations General Assembly resolution states that “the right to safe and clean drinking
water and sanitation is a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of the right to life.” ;21
● In 2007, Coca-Cola continued to extract water from Atlanta’s Lake Lanier, which supplies
municipal drinking water for 5 million people, despite Atlanta being in an extreme drought and
the governor declaring the drought a state of emergency ;22
● The CEO of Nestle once declared “access to water should not be a public right;” Nestle continues
to exploit the water sources of communities around globe by bottling the water and selling it back
to the public ;23
WHEREAS, there are feasible alternatives to bottled water that are more cost-effective, environmentally
conscious, and accessible:
● At least 40% of bottled water is tap water;
13
​http://mslk.com/reactions/watershed-a-new-mslk-eco-installation/
14
​http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-ocean-pollution-facts.php
15
​http://pacinst.org/publication/bottled-water-and-energy-a-fact-sheet/
16
​http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/10/28/241419373/how-much-water-actually-goes-into-making-a-bottle-of-water
17
​http://ecowatch.com/2014/04/07/22-facts-plastic-pollution-10-things-can-do-about-it/
18
​http://www.bottlesupglass.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Facts-About-Plastic-Bottles-and-Bottled-Water.pdf
19 ​
​http://mslk.com/reactions/watershed-a-new-mslk-eco-installation/
20
​https://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/human-right-water
21
​http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=35456#.Vr0ruceDXVo
22
​http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/us/23drought.html?_r=0
23
​http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-privatisation-of-water-nestle-denies-that-water-is-a-fundamental-human-right/5332238

4. ● The U.S. public water system is regulated by the EPA which requires publicly released results of
the numerous daily tests for bacteria and other toxins, while bottled water companies are
regulated by the FDA which only require weekly testings that are not released to the public ;24
● People spend from 240 to over 10,000 times more per gallon for bottled water than they typically
do for tap water ’;25
● Using BPA-free, lead-free reusable bottles are better for human health as well as the environment
by reducing the amount of fossil fuels and toxins released into the air during production ;26
● Most public facilities have water fountains to fill up reusable bottles​25​
;
WHEREAS, bottled water, depending on the brand, may actually be less clean and safe than tap water:
bottled water is defined as “food”; therefore, it is under under the authority of the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) while tap water is under the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) - which operates with stricter standards ;27
WHEREAS, a number of other Universities of California campuses have taken concrete steps, including
student referenda and introducing alternatives to bottled water​,​ to ban the sale of plastic water bottles on
campus;
WHEREAS, a number of universities, including Harvard University, Brown University, and
Northwestern University have already gone bottled water-free on their campuses;
WHEREAS, over 1,300 UCSD students, staff and faculty have signed the petition urging UCSD to go
plastic bottled-water free ;28
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that ASUCSD supports that, as a plastic bottled-water free campus,
UCSD will not sell bottled water in on-campus locations, including, but not limited to, convenience stores
and vending machines;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that ASUCSD recommends that new hydration stations be installed in
student-requested locations, where feasible;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that ASUCSD recognizes the need, upon request by visitors, for access
to disposable boxed water, available at locations most frequented by visitors such as the Triton Center and
RIMAC;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that ASUCSD believes that UCSD has the potential and responsibility to
uphold the principles outlined in the UC San Diego Climate Action Plan, and that going plastic bottled
water-free is an important step in this process;
24
​http://www.isustainableearth.com/green-products/reusable-water-bottles-help-you-go-green-and-stay-healthy
25
​http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/exesum.asp
26
​https://www.banthebottle.net/articles/think-reusable-bottles-forget-plastic-bottled-water/
27
​https://www.banthebottle.net/articles/7-bottled-water-myths-busted/
28
​https://www.causes.com/campaigns/86976-ban-the-sale-of-single-use-plastic-bottled-water-at-ucsd

5. BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that ASUCSD will hold relevant entities, including Real Estate,
University Centers, and Housing, Dining, and Hospitality, accountable to upholding the aforementioned
criteria in order to enforce a stronger Plastic Bottled Water Ban Policy for UCSD.