As part of the students’ union’s commitment towards a sustainable campus, incoming freshers and first year postgraduate students can pick up a free reusable “Bottle Up” water bottle from the University. Money raised from the Latte Levy scheme will be used to purchase the bottles.
Driven by YUSU President, Pierrick Roger, all plastic water bottles at YUSU and Eat York outlets will be replaced by these reusable water bottles from September, priced at £2.50 per bottle.
Made entirely from renewable plant-based plastic, “Bottle Up” reusable water bottles require less water and energy than single use water bottles. The sugarcane bottles are BPA free and dishwasher friendly, making them safe to use over and over again.
Founded in Amsterdam with a mission to eliminate single-use water bottles, the bottles come in a variety of colours, making them cute as well as environmentally friendly!
Sugarcane is a low impact crop, meaning that it requires little to no fertiliser or additional irrigation. Once the sugar is removed, the remaining pulp, or bagasse, is turned into durable plant-based plastic.
Similarly, for each “Bottle Up” water bottle sold, a donation is given to Made Blue, a charity which ensures that safe drinking water reaches at-risk communities in developing countries. In 2020, 8 million litres of safe drinking water were donated by “Bottle Up” through the charity.
Machiel van Dooren, the co-founder of Made Blue said:
“Bottle Up is a great concept that offers a reusable, plant-based alternative to single-use bottles and is refillable with tap water. We have partnered with the ambitious team at Bottle Up to ensure you will never drink alone; for every Bottle Up bottle sold, at least 100 litres of safe drinking water is donated to communities in developing countries around the world.”
This comes after the news that YUSU has become one of the few students’ unions around the country to have been awarded an “excellent” accreditation for Green Impact this year, in recognition of the Union’s year-long dedication work towards sustainability.
We spoke to Pierrick Roger, the current YUSU President:
“By giving the bottles away to first-years and pricing the bottles much lower than on the high-street, we hope to reach the majority of the student body and make it much easier for us as a collective to meaningfully reduce the amount of plastic we consume on and off campus.
“We wanted a product that looked good, felt good to use and prices affordably to bring as many students with us as we can and help us as an organisation turn away from single-use plastic bottles for good. We hope you will love the product as much as we do.”
Vision also spoke to Anushka Swannell, YUSU’s Environment and Ethics Officer:
“Bottle Up was a model that followed from the strong legacy of Yorkcup. This will massively encourage students to recuse their water bottles and Yorkcups.
“YUSU’s commitment to sustainability is growing year and year. I am really excited to continue to work with YUSU to collaboratively create initiatives like Bottle Up. This is a clear example of why YUSU got the Green Impact Award.
“This is just the beginning, it is imperative that the University and YUSU continue to take these steps toward a more sustainable campus.”