PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A local university is banning the sale of bottled water on campus.

Chatham University is one of 90 schools nationwide that won’t sell bottled water because of the impact on the environment.

Sixty percent of plastic bottles are trashed instead of recycled.

Locally, Chatham is taking the lead.

“I’m glad we were the first, but it’s nice to show other people that it can be done,” Mary Whitney, Chatham’s director of sustainability, said.

Students get a reusable bottle when they enroll and filtered water stations are positioned throughout the campus for refills.

“I think it is one of the many steps that we need to take in order to reduce waste in packaging,” Rachel McNorton, a Chatham University sophomore, said.

The university also uses solar panels to heat water and has a rain garden to save run-off from getting into the sewers.

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