Diagnosis of the level of student support for campus-wide removal of bottled water

Abstract

The goal of this research project was to determine the level of student support at Dalhousie for the removal of water bottles from vending machines and food service locations on campus. The results showed that more than 70% of students were in favour of removing bottled water from vending machines, food service locations, or both. Although the majority of students are in favour of a ban, there are certain barriers that need to be addressed prior to banning bottled water outright. Many other universities and communities are striving to restrict the sale of bottled water or already have implemented a ban. SustainDal‟s Water Committee implemented a two-phase timeframe in 2009, over the course of which they hope to see a ban on the sale of bottled water on all Dalhousie campuses. Student feedback is a crucial component in determining whether or not banning bottled water is a good change to implement. Intercept surveys were conducted on all three Dalhousie campuses in a haphazard and purposive fashion in order to gain a representative sample of 376 surveys. The surveys were cross-examined to express relationships between campus used, faculty and year of study. The surveys were coded and analyzed using Excel. It was found that the majority of students do not buy bottled water on campus, and those that do usually do so infrequently. Recommendations for action and future research were discussed. These recommendations include infrastructure upgrades and increasing awareness. The results will be used in SustainDal‟s efforts to ban bottled water on campus.