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Free reusable water bottle for all Freshers living on campus

Posted on 8 September 2022

As part of our commitment to create a more sustainable campus, we are giving all Freshers living on campus a FREE reusable water bottle during arrivals.

Exciting news! Eat at York and YUSU have joined up to give away FREE reusable 'Bottle Up' water bottles. As a welcome gift, all Freshers living on campus will receive one! Your college will be handing out the bottles during welcome week so make sure you don't miss out.

Made from sugar cane and completely BPA free, Bottle Up bottles are made for durability, so that you can use it again, and again, and again! As well as lasting for ages, they are completely dishwasher friendly. Convenient, stylish, renewable… What more could you ask for?

We are using money raised from the Latte Levy scheme to purchase these bottles for Freshers living on campus, so you don’t have to!

From September, we are also replacing all plastic water bottles at YUSU and Eat York outlets with reusable ‘Bottle Up’ water bottles, costing £2.50 per bottle. This idea was driven by our YUSU President, Pierrick Roger!

Pierrick said: "By giving the bottles away to first-years and pricing the bottles much lower than on the high-street, we hope to reach the majority of the student body and make it much easier for us as a collective to meaningfully reduce the amount of plastic we consume on and off campus. We wanted a product that looked good, felt good to use and prices affordably to bring as many students with us as we can and help us as an organisation turn away from single-use plastic bottles for good. We hope you will love the product as much as we do.”

It is incredibly important to the University of York and the Student Union to contribute towards meaningful change, and replacing our plastic bottles with the carbon negative, Bottle Up bottles will significantly reduce our carbon footprint. For no extra cost, you will be able to own a clean, on-the-go water bottle, perfect for study days at the library or staying hydrated during seminars!

Environment and Ethics Officer, Anushka Swannell said: "Bottle up was a model that followed from the strong legacy of Yorcup. This will massively encourage students to recuse their water bottles and Yorcups. Hopefully this will push for a more plastic free campus.

"YUSU's commitment to sustainability is growing year and year. I am really excited to continue to work with YUSU to create initiatives like Bottle Up.

"It is imperative that the University and YUSU continue to take these steps toward a more sustainable campus. This is only the beginning to a campus that prioritises social and environmental sustainability."

Look out for your bottle in your college welcome packs during Freshers' week, that you will use for the duration of your degree, and after!