Cal Students To Vote On Proposed Water Bottle Ban

BERKELEY (KCBS) -- In an attempt to cut waste by 75 percent next year, campaign organizers at UC Berkeley will introduce a ballot initiative for the student election to ban the sale of plastic water bottles on campus.

Junior Larissa Aldez said she doubts a ban will change student's habits.

"I think it's a good idea for environmental purposes," she said, but admitted that she'd probably still buy water bottles if it were convenient and that other people would too.

KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:

Several hundred thousand water bottles are sold each year on Cal's campus according to campus retailers, but junior Casey Hassan said a ban wouldn't be an inconvenience.

"A lot of people come to school with their canteens and fill up their water bottle. I think it would just encourage more people to do the same," said Hassan.

Senior Joey Goodknight said he doesn't think a ban is the way to go, but agrees that single-use plastic bottles are bad.

"I think people should have the right to make bad decisions, so I'll probably vote against banning water bottles," said Goodknight who based his stance on principle.

The Cal student elections will be held next Tuesday through Thursday.

The vote is non binding, but a majority vote would be used by student organizers to work with administrators on phasing out plastic water bottles.

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