Green Tip Tuesday: No More Plastic Water Bottles or Grocery Bags

You may have noticed that plastic water bottles are no longer available in our vending machines, bookstores or cafeterias. They have been replaced by 16 oz aluminum cans of water. This is due to the Virginia Governor’s Executive Order 77: Virginia Leading by Example to Reduce Plastic Pollution and Solid Waste.

Executive Order 77 required all state agencies, including institutions of higher education, to cease buying, selling and distributing single-use plastic and polystyrene food service containers, single-use plastic straws and cutlery, disposable plastic bags and single-use plastic water bottles by July 21, 2021. The order also calls for agencies to phase-out the use of all other single-use plastics by 2025. This order is a positive step toward making our Commonwealth cleaner and our economy more sustainable. More detailed information on this executive order is available on the Virginia DEQ site.

A VCCS team working on the plan to respond to DEQ and EO77 includes NOVA’s Rob Johnson, director of sustainability and auxiliary services, and other leaders across the VCCS. The team is working to collect data so the system office can report to DEQ for all colleges in one document. The team is also reviewing alternatives to items on the list and will work with the VCCS Shared Services Center (SSC) to find sources for these alternatives. SSC has reviewed contracts to identify those that involve single-use plastics and will eventually issue contract modifications in coordination with college contract administrators.

How does EO77 affect day-to-day life at NOVA?
NOVA is ahead of the curve on sustainability initiatives as our Food Service contracts awarded in May 2020 already include much of the same language as the Executive Order. Through Rob Johnson’s sustainability leadership, the college has already begun the process of transitioning away from polystyrene (Styrofoam) and single-use plastics to reusable, biodegradable and compostable serveware, utensils and other materials in the cafeterias and bookstore cafés.

NOVA’s Auxiliary Services department is actively working with Barnes & Noble, Coca-Cola and Gilly Vending to address all items in the Executive Order. In the bookstores, Barnes & Noble has transitioned to paper bags and new cups and packaging types in the cafés. Compostable or biodegradable straws are available only by request in the cafeterias and bookstore cafés.

As of September 2021, NOVA transitioned from plastic water bottles to canned water in the cafeterias and bookstores (note that there are water bottle filling stations in most NOVA buildings where you can refill your reusable container).

As of July 21, 2021, NOVA (and all VCCS colleges) ceased purchasing any single-use plastics that are on the EO77 list. There is an exception for medical programs and labs (biology, chemistry, automotive, etc.). Employees who are responsible for medical programs and labs should look for replacement items when feasible.

Contracts for services such as custodial and waste/recycling may require negotiation or modification to include EO77 guidelines. NOVA will continue to use its inventory of single-use plastics until those items are depleted and then replace them with alternatives. More information, including how to procure EO77-compliant products, can be found here in NOVA’s Plastic Reduction Strategy.

As NOVA’s Director of Sustainability and Auxiliary Services, Rob Johnson is the main point of contact for the College for both college efforts and as part of the VCCS team to address the future phases of the Executive Order. He can be reached at rojohnson@nvcc.edu.

Submitted by:
Rob Johnson, Director of Aux. Svcs and Sustainability, ROJohnson@nvcc.edu