Aaron Banks, president of PSG and a senior in industrial engineering, has a plan to bring student awareness to environmental sustainability on campus this year, using a company founded by [actors] Will and Jaden Smith.
"I have been working on a basic collaboration between Purdue and this company, JUST Water," said Banks at the last student senate meeting. "I think that it’s important that we as PSG [promote] options for sustainability."
JUST Water sells its water in paper containers with caps made out of sugarcane. The point of the water-bottle company is to reduce carbon emissions and encourage sustainable practices, according to the company's website.
Banks said he had been in contact with the chief marketing officer of JUST Water, brainstorming ways to bring the company to Purdue's campus. The PSG president said that one idea would be to offer the water in dining courts or On-the-GO! stations sometime in the near future.
"Where there’s a will, there's a way," he said.
Banks found JUST Water when researching ways to bring environmentally friendly practices to campus. After discovering the company, he knew he was on to something big.
"We’re pushing sustainability very hard," Banks said. "I think it’d be something, especially this year" on Purdue's 150th anniversary.
"This (JUST Water) project is very much still in the works,” said Madeline Moisio, a junior in industrial engineering and the PSG executive director of sustainability, in an email, "but we are helping implement JUST Water's educational outreach into the Purdue community. JUST Water is a really cool and edgy concept, we want to make sure students recognize how easy it is to say no to single-use plastics. JUST Water is an ethical and plastic alternative that we are (excited) to work with."
Banks has yet to overcome the issue of terms — Purdue currently has a contract with The Coca-Cola Co., so the University cannot endorse JUST Water by supplying it in dining courts. The student government president isn't giving up, though.
"Even if I can’t get this (into dining courts)," Banks said, "we're ... going to try to move forward with it. I think it'd be good."
The move toward a future of fewer plastic water bottles came with the announcement of Moisio as PSG's new executive director of sustainability.
To promote the idea of environmental health even further, Moisio had a couple of ideas for PSG to embrace to help reduce its footprint on the Earth.
"(Not) using single-use plastic, not getting pepperoni, not getting red meat, things like that," Moisio said at the senate meeting. "I want to be more project-based."
Moisio's attitude aligns with Banks, as both hope to jump right into making Purdue a better place for its students, starting with PSG engagement.
"My goals for this year are to provide the student body with the tools to live sustainable lives," she said. "We are working on tackling recycling and composting within Greek houses and off-campus apartments, something that the student body desperately needs and wants. I'd like students to understand that living sustainable lives is easy and should be done with a sense of urgency. ... Your mother (Earth) needs you!"
Banks is prepared to bring his and Moisio's ideas to life through PSG.
"We have an idea, we have a plan," Banks said. "We're thinking about a little bit of everything. We have a lot of strong, capable leaders. ... I'm very excited about them."
Those leaders will help Banks drive his sustainability campaign forward, starting with little blue-and-white boxes of water from a company dedicated to protecting the environment.
