Cafeterias across the board should stop serving bottled water and provide ice water in reusable cups says Pearl Fong-West, Superintendent of Business and Finance and Treasurer of DSBONE.
However, she told trustees that she believed vending machines should dispense bottled water as people may want water during hours when the cafeterias are closed.
Student trustee Jacob McGonigal, from Kirkland Lake District Composite School said that a better alternative is to establish water bottle filling stations. He cited Timmins’ O’Gorman High School in the District North East Catholic School as an example of the popularity and success of refillable water bottle stations with students
“Once the filling was in place within weeks over 1,000 bottles were refilled,” McGonigal said.
Fong-West acknowledged that drinking water fountains which have fallen into disuse and disrepair due to the popularity of bottled water and refillable water bottles will play an important part as a replacement for the bottled water.
“We will be checking on the conditions of our school water fountains in DSBONE schools to identify which need to be repaired,” Fong-West said.
“Anyone's fountain that needs fixing will be fixed,” she added.
Fong-West also said that some water fountains will be replaced by water filling stations.
“Some water fountains were not being used,” she said. “But once water filling stations were put in their use increased.”
“We now have four water filling stations that have been installed in some our schools and we can monitor how they are being used,” she advised the trustees.
“I want to congratulate Jacob McGonigal for pushing the initiative for a drinking bottle refilling stations in our schools,” said trustee Wayne Major (Hearst-Kapuskasing). “It’s great idea.”
Trustee Heather Bozzer (Timmins) wondered why the school board will continuing to sell bottled water in the vending machines when they will only end up in the landfill.
Fong-West indicated that the removal of bottled water from school vending machines will be discussed with Chartwells, its vending machine operator. The suggestion is timely as negotiations for renewing the contract with Chartwells is currently underway.