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To: Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, CEAP, PAPSCU, COCOPEA and other School Associations

Ban disposable bottles from school canteens

Ban the sale of disposable water and beverage bottles in school canteens

Why is this important?

Ten reasons why we should ban the sale of disposable plastic bottles in schools:
1. Less Waste. Less than 10% of all plastic waste generated is being recycled. The volume of plastic bottles being generated in school canteens is much too big and not all are being recycled. It doesn't make sense to continue generating this waste.
2. Safer Drinking Water. There is no assurance that water or drinks from disposable bottles are safe to drink. Many bottled water companies do not subscribe to safety standards and water quality is not much better than tap.
3. More expensive than fuel. Bottled water and sugared beverages are much too expensive, especially for students. At most times, bottled water is more expensive that soft drinks and chemical-laden sugared drinks in tetra packs. Water refilling is more allowance-friendly. Students are encouraged to drink more water if they don't have to spend too much to buy it.
4. Better access. While mineral water and bottled beverages can only be sold at school canteens, water refilling stations can be placed strategically all over schools, encouraging students to drink water more.
5. Better health. Water refilling stations provide better access to safe, affordable drinking water. Students drinking more water promote over-all better health for the school community.
6. Water miles. If we are worried about food miles, shouldn't we be also worried more about water miles? Why drink water that came from so far away, water that is bottled months, or even years ago? Transporting these drinks entail a lot of carbon footprint. Be mindful of climate change and the water miles of bottled water.
7. Making the government accountable. Just because we can buy bottled water to drink, it doesn't mean that the government is off the hook in its responsibility to provide safe drinking water for all. Promoting bottled water is allowing the transfer of responsibility to provide clean drinking water from government to the business sector. Water is a right. It should be drinkable from the tap. The government should provide it.
8. Better behavior. Hyper-activity and restlessness among children have been found to be linked to excessive sugar intake. Sugared drinks in disposable bottles are some of the culprits. By eliminating access to such drinks in schools, students can be more sober and calm and thus be in better behavior.
9. Promote healthier options in school canteens. Instead of factory-made drinks, fresh and healthy fruit and herbal drinks should be prepared in schools.
10. Generate more income. More income can be generated if water refilling stations are placed strategically all over schools. Its a win-win situation where the school still gets to earn a income from refilling stations and students get access to safe and cheaper water. Matching schools with local farmers in providing healthy, natural, and organic drinks could also generate local income rather than have the income concentrated only in big companies that bottle water and manufacture chemical and sugar-laden bottled drinks.

How it will be delivered

When enough signatures have been generated, I plan to deliver the petition to the Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education to pressure them to cascade the ban through all school associations in the country.

Links

Updates

2017-04-05 21:30:07 +0800

DepEd banned unhealthy drinks and junk food from schools. Aside from its health benefits, it also minimizes processed food in disposable packaging. However, this is not enough. Bottled water still abound, and the policy is limited to public schools. Let us encourage our friends to continue sharing this petition so that disposable bottles are banned in all schools, bringing health and environmental benefits.

Sign the petition here:
https://www.bataris.org.ph/petitions/ban-disposable-bottles-from-school-canteens

See the news link here:
http://www.philstar.com/campus/education/2017/03/30/1685874/deped-bans-softdrinks-junk-food-schools
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/428511/deped-reminds-canteens-against-selling-junk-food-softdrinks

2017-01-11 15:23:43 +0800

100 signatures reached

2016-10-24 21:12:06 +0800

50 signatures reached

2016-09-02 15:55:04 +0800

25 signatures reached

2016-08-30 23:49:03 +0800

10 signatures reached