Students at one of Britain's biggest universities have become the first in the country to ban bottled still water from all their bars, cafes and shops, sacrificing annual profits of £32,000.

A referendum at Leeds University has voted overwhelmingly to phase out the product by the end of next year, to allow campus stores to absorb the loss of their biggest-selling line.

More than 200,000 bottles of still water were sold by the university union's outlets last year to students, whose bags and backpacks habitually have the plastic containers peeping from pockets. National sales of bottled water have risen rapidly in the last decade and now account for 5% of all drinks purchased.

"It's a measure of concern about the environment, putting sustainability before profit," says Tom Salmon of Leeds University Union, which saw 4,000 students vote on the issue – an exceptional turnout. "We've got to pull bottled water off the shelves by 2010 and bring in new lines of affordable, reusable water bottles instead."

To read more on this article please visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/dec/16/students-waste

Source: The Guardian Online