HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-11-18, Page 17LAKE HURON
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Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - Page 17
School board bans bottles on January 1
_Stow Slater
special to the signal -star
Some changes have already been made
in many schools, and full restrictions on
the sale of bottled water in the Avon Mai-
tland District School Board come into ef-
fect January 1.
"I think we're ahead of the curve. The
municipalities are doing it and I see no
reason why the school boards shouldn't,"
enthused Stratford trustee Doug Pratley, at
a regular board meeting Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Pratley — along with representatives from
school staff, students and administrators —
serves as the trustee representative on the
Environmental Leadership and Education
Committee, which first brought forward
the recommendation early this year.
A Jan. 27, 2009 board motion, in keep-
ing with that committee's recommenda-
tion, called for a prohibition on "the pur-
chase and/or sale of bottled water ... on
all (board) property, except where required
for medical or emergency purposes." The
motion called for implementation for the
beginning of 2010, but some parts have al-
ready been put in place.
According to an update report provided
to trustees at the Nov. 10 meeting, vending
machines were removed from all elemen-
tary schools at the conclusion of the 2008-
09 school calendar, and bottled water has
been removed from all secondary school
machines.
"I would estimate we had machines in
between 50-75 per cent of our (elemen-
tary) schools," explained Avon Maitland
purchasing manager Brad Hill, in an inter-
view after the meeting. Machines remain
in place in all secondary schools, mean-
while, albeit with an altered offering as a
result of the recent changes.
Hill noted the elementary school ma-
chines used to dispense both fruit juice and
bottled water. The juices were removed
some time ago due to revised Ministry of
Education guidelines — based on Health
ministry recommendations — on fruit juice
serving sizes for younger children. The ma-
chines could d not accommodate the smaller
bottles; as a result, the elementary school
machines, at the time of their removal, dis-
pensed only bottled water.
In secondary schools, where larger serv-
ing -size fruit juices remain available in
vending machines, bottled water has been
removed and replaced. According to Hill,
this has generally meant the introduction
of "no -calorie" and "low -calorie" drinks,
often described as "vitamin water" or "vi-
tamin -enhanced beverages."
The next step, scheduled for full imple-
mentation Jan. 1, is the removal of bottled
water from school cafeterias. Hill said the
ban was already negotiated into contracts
with each of the schools' food services
providers (five of the board's nine high
schools are served by the Chartwell's cor-
poration; the rest are served by indepen-
dent contractors).
Cheryl Peach, a principal who served on
the Environmental Leadership and Educa-
tion Committee, was careful to note this is
not an outright ban.
"We will be allowing students, if they
bring it from home, to have bottled water,"
Peach explained. The sale of bottled water
will also be allowed for special events at
the school, such as sports tournaments or
other extra -curricular activities.
With those exceptions in mind, the com-
mittee recommended that schools "need
to provide recycling facilities for plastic
bottles"
Peach added, however, that students
have already shown they're ready for the
changes. More and more students are
bringing their own refillable water bottles
and refilling them at fountains. And some
school -related organizations — such as stu-
dent councils or school councils — have un-
dertaken refillable water bottle sales cam-
paigns as a form of fundraising.
The Plastic Continent: Did you know?
• In the Padflc Ocean, half -way between Ha-
waii and California, there is an unintention-
ally man-made island created out of refuse
- mostly plastic - that has migrated there?
The Wand is larger than Texas, and was dis-
covered in 1997 by Captain Charles Moore.
• The island is composed of garbage that h ei-
ther dumped, or carried off -shore, and con-
tains items like furniture, plastk bags and
bottles, televisions, large appliances, and
fishing nets.
• The man made continent is also known as
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Trashlantis,
The Asian Trash Trail, and The Trash Vortex.
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Branch 109 thanks all
those who made our
Remembrance Day so great.
Our Poppy Chairman, Ben Prouse, and
his committee who worked so hard.
All those who helped with the Poppy Blitz, in the
community and the stores, indudingthe Air Cadets,
and all those members of the Junior Saiibrs Hockey
Team. Those who participated in any way with
the parade, the Celtic Blue Pipe Band, Laketown
Band, the colour party, the solderfrom the Land
Forces Centra' Area Training Centre in Meaford,
our police department, the Air Cadets, Cubs and
Scouts, Branch members, Veteranl,Jhe Laidlaw
Bus, our volunteer driver, Murra ; alitleddy
all those who att it'iv� It was so imp :to us
that the Grade four to studentdrOm
Public School attended too.to Rev. Canon
AllanLivingstone whose wb 1
were so moving.
Very special thanks goes to the Ladies Auxiliary
to Branch 109 who fed over MAO made it look
easy and also for their very spedai donation to the
Branch W*re you ladies.
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