gw purchased 26,000 reusable water bottles from didómi, a water bottle company with the mission to combat the water crisis in developing countries and provide high-quality reusable water bottles to encourage individuals to reduce their plastic consumption. 

not only will gw’s purchase of these reusable water bottles reduce plastic use on campus –– this financial investment will reach beyond campus. didómi partners with the nonprofit organization water is life to provide reliable access to water across africa. according to didómi, each bottle purchased provides 10 years of water access to a person in africa. using the funds from the partnership with gw, didómi will donate 50% of its profits to fund the nonprofit’s water projects. 

on the morning of march 21, two of didómi’s founders, lamah bility and brian bishop, came to gw’s campus to distribute water bottles. while telling the mission of their company, bility shared the personal story of fellow co-founder anaa jibicho. jibicho, a refugee from ethiopia, lost two siblings to water-borne diseases. when jibicho lived in liberia before his family won a lottery to move to the united states, he had to wake up each morning to walk miles to fetch water for his family, billy said. jibicho had a realization about the accessibility of water once in the u.s., where clean water conveniently flows from the tap in many places.

while listening to didómi’s story, students colored and personalized their water bottles. junior sarah teague painted clouds on her new bottle, placing her personalized design around the gw’s plastic campaign logo and didómi’s logo, the partnership aesthetically represented on the bottle.

teague says her interest in sustainably centers on gw divesting from fossil fuels. in 2020, after seven years of student organizing on the issue, gw committed to divest from all public and private companies with a focus on fossil fuel extraction by 2025, in alignment with recommendations from the university’s environmental, social, and governance (esg) responsibility task force. yet, there is a need for education around gw’s positive changes and events to announce gw’s sustainability-related efforts. 

volunteer audrey litto, a junior at gw involved with take back the tap, a student initiative to transition away from using single-use plastic water bottles to reusable, refillable bottles, shared that she hopes people will take advantage of the new water bottle stations popping up on campus and the new high-quality didómi water bottles. 

senior jack mcmorrow, a volunteer through a service-learning class at gw, has participated in passing out didómi bottles outside of the covid test trailers for the past week. 

“it felt great to be part of such an important initiative to reduce single-use plastic on campus,” mcmorrow said. “i was truly excited to see the enthusiasm of the members of our community who were willing to utilize these water bottles. so many people were excited to approach us and were eager to learn about ways to reduce plastic use.” 

didómi was named after the greek word meaning “to give.” the logo symbolizes crossed fingers representing hope, or optimism for better days together. through efforts like this, there is hope for gw as a collective to make a difference to reduce waste and help save the environment. 

in february 2021, while gw classes were held remotely due to covid-19, the university implemented a policy to eliminate single-use plastics on gw property. the policy guide states university affiliates should refrain from using university funds to purchase single-use plastics for which there are available alternatives.

the switch to reusable water bottles saves an average of 156 water bottles per person in the united states per year, according to earthday. the market for reusable water bottles was valued at 8.38 billion usd in 2020, according to grand view research, and is expected to grow in years to come.

the increase in popularity can inspire students to find stickers to encapsulate their personality, leading every water bottle to look different from the next. this act of personalization allows students to take ownership of their collective step towards more sustainable living.

liam macdermott, a senior at george washington university, said the personalized element to water bottles encourages students to make the switch. i asked him if he has seen a visual change on the gw campus since the plastics ban. 

“i have definitely seen a concerted effort to use recyclable or sustainable utensils in gw restaurants,” he said. “that was not happening my freshman year.” 

as a senior, macdermott’s perspective on the plastics ban is quite different than most; around half of the undergraduate students on gw’s campus this fall had not taken an in-person class prior to this semester, due to the switch to remote learning during the pandemic, and so have no reference point for the visible changes the university has made.

paige valego, a junior at gw who was on campus for a semester and a half prior to the single-use plastics ban, said she hadn’t seen many plastic changes on campus, though she may have noticed a change more significantly if the campus had a traditional dining hall.

indeed, gw’s dining plan poses a challenge in regard to the ban on single-use plastics. the university lacks a traditional dining hall on its main campus in foggy bottom and utilizes a “dining partner network” through which students use gw dining dollars at independent restaurants, grocery stores, and food trucks on campus. the university’s plastic elimination plan acknowledged the campus dining partners, and stated that the university will collaborate and encourage dining partners on or near campus to offer alternatives to single-use plastics.  

vallego explains that in efforts to live more sustainably on campus, she carries around a reusable water bottle and participates in sustainable gw’s student-led composting program. 

violet radmacher-willis, a sophomore, arrived on campus for the first time this fall. she finds being environmentally conscious at gw more complicated than at home in oregon, where she said an effort to live sustainably is common. she said that although using a reusable water bottle is probably the most popular environmentally-friendly effort shared by students, it is challenging to find refill stations. 

according to kimberly williams, interim senior associate at gw’s office of sustainability, the university aims to install refill stations in every residence hall and academic building. currently, there are 67 water bottle filling stations around campus. williams noted that she understands the lack of resources makes it hard to participate in this sustainable culture shift, so is hopeful that the investment in resources that the university is making is helpful to make that culture shift happen quickly and broadly.

radmacher-willis echoed this sentiment, saying, “i have hope that, because people are becoming more aware of the benefits of reusable material, that both gw and members of the community will turn to more sustainable practices.”

1. find a way to make people think beyond a scope they have considered before. 

filmmaker john sutter explored the timeline of climate change and rethinking our environmental memory. sutter has a project called baseline: the climate crisis beyond a human lifetime. sutter exposed that our environmental memory is only two to eight years long; thus, it is difficult for us to judge if the climate has drastically changed during our own lifetimes.   

2. write about the discussions of environmental issues with our leaders.

discussing the environment with our local leaders who are at the forefront of protecting our environment through lawmaking gives interesting insight into our cities and communities’ climate issues. during the climate summit kate gallego, the mayor of phoenix, arizona, spoke about what phoenix is doing to become a heat-ready city. hearing her relevant perspective on the heat issues held a lot of weight because she is working first-hand against the ramifications of climate change.    

3. tell the story of how environmental issues affect our children.  

readers care about the youth. this became clear by the emphasis on the phoenix heat index issue on school playgrounds. the community cares about children, they are more vulnerable, and did not cause climate change but live with the consequences. no one wants to hear about children getting burned on their own playground equipment. 

4. interview someone who, from a scientific and personal perspective, has lived through environmental changes. 

at the summit, broadcaster al roker talked about how he has personally witnessed climate change in his years of reporting on the weather. further, john sutter utilizes the personal perspective of children worldwide that are being heavily affected by climate change to tell their story. 

5. write the story of young scientists or activists to add a youthful perspective and activism. 

planet forward student contributors adora shortridge and william walker spoke at the summit about studying heat issues, specifically in phoenix, arizona. their young perspective and eagerness about climate change sparked interest in the group to care about the problems they were discussing.