When Celeste Digiovanni was making her way to her first course in environmental sociology, a bit late and thirsty, she discovered that the University of Ottawa has not sold bottled water on campus since 2010. Irked that such an ubiquitous commodity was not available and trying to understand why, she discovered that bottled water is a human rights issue and embodies major environmental and financial costs. She then understood the University’s decision — but still, bottled water comes in handy! So she came up with a portable, sustainable and economical alternative: the H2Ottawa bottle.
“My limited access to portable water was a small frustration compared to the complicated and -often times- life-threatening global and local(!) issues surrounding water rights.” – Celeste Digiovanni
A different kind of bottle
Made of infinitely recyclable aluminum, sold in vending machines at the same price as a disposable water bottle, refillable at the many campus water fountains, and reusable, the H2Ottawa is as practical and accessible as a plastic bottle, but without the environmental, economic and social impact. You can find it in our vending machines, listed here, starting March 22, World water day.
- Read the complet article on the Gazette website.
- Les matins d'ici - Audio fil - La bouteille H2Ottawa (Radio-Canada) *in French only
- Metal water bottles for sale in U of O vending machines (CBC)
- U of O student launches sustainability campaign on World Water Day (The Fulcrum)
- Water bottles are back at University of Ottawa (Ottawa Morning, CBC)