Environmentalists, rejoice: Northwestern convenience stores will phase out water bottles over the next couple months, according to Pura Playa project managers.
McCormick seniors Megan Renner and Katherine Rodzak, Pura Playa's project managers, have been working on this initative for years. To phase out water bottles from NU c-stores, they've worked closely with Julie Payne-Kirchmeier, associate vice president for student affairs, and Rob Whittier, NU's director of sustaibability. These administrators have coordinated with dining, facilities management and various other parts of Northwestern administration to get the phaseout in motion.
Pura Playa, Northwestern's premiere plastic waste reduction team, is part of NU's umbrella organization Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW). They run the "Northwestern Thinks Outside the Bottle" campaign, a project focusing on reduces plastic waste reduction coordinated by ESW.
"This is the very first part of the bottled-water phaseout," Renner wrote in an email. "There are many other places and events to tackle on our timeline for Northwestern going bottled-water free."