Currently, students are not allowed to have anything to drink except water at school. More specifically, they are only allowed to carry plastic, disposable water bottles.

Students should be allowed to carry reusable water bottles of any size that are see-through, because there is not a written rule stating otherwise, it encourages hydration and there is less plastic waste.

When asked for clarification on what the rule was, administrators failed to show a written rule that prohibits students from bringing water in a reusable bottle versus a disposable bottle. So, students should be allowed to bring their reusable bottles without question.

On average, reusable water bottles hold 32 ounces. Disposable plastic water bottles hold 16.9 ounces or less. According to Live Science, students ages 14 to 18 should be drinking 64 ounces of water every day. We cannot expect students to bring four disposable water bottles to school everyday when they could easily bring a reusable bottle with a larger capacity. One 32 ounce reusable water bottle would only need to be refilled one time every day. By allowing different types of bottles, students will be able to carry more water with them, leading to better hydration and a healthier mind.

If students were/had to bring four bottles of water, the amount of plastic waste would be astronomical. According to plastic-pollution.org and Global Industry Analysts, plastic consumption reached 297.5 million tons by the end of 2015. Students would only be adding to this amount, something that can be prevented.

Even though there is no rule, students are still told not to bring reusable bottles because of the difficulty with regulating what is inside the bottle. In order to fix the problem, administration should require the bottles to be see-through. This way, the difficulty of enforcing the rule is at the same level as if they were carrying a disposable bottle.

Because drinking water allows for students to practice healthy habits, the school administration needs to review the current “rule” restricting the use of reusable water bottles and accommodate to student’s hydration needs. This would allow for healthier, hydrated students, as well as a less polluted Earth, something that is beneficial to everyone.