12.2.7 Disposable policy: extensions to services

SWU Night Market extends the University’s policy for the minimisation of disposable items and single-use plastics to the outsourced food and beverage vendors who trade on campus. Vendors are encouraged to replace single-use plastic bags, boxes and cups with eco-friendly packaging. The initiative cuts plastic waste from contracted food services, promotes sustainable consumption, and builds environmental awareness among vendors, students, staff and visitors. In this way, the University’s sustainability commitment reaches beyond its own units to campus market operations and its supply chain.

Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) applies its policies on the minimisation of plastic use and disposable items not only to its own units but also to outsourced services on campus, such as food catering and canteens, market vendors and event services, and to the wider supply chain. In 2025, the University put these policies into practice through three initiatives: encouraging people to use reusable cups and bottles, providing free drinking water refill stations, and promoting eco-friendly packaging among vendors at SWU Night Market. Together, these initiatives reduce disposable plastic waste, encourage sustainable consumption, and raise environmental awareness among students, staff, vendors and the wider university community.

“Bring Your Cup: Get a Free Drink 2025”

SWU organized the “Bring Your Cup: Get a Free Drink 2025” campaign to cut single-use plastic cup waste by asking members of the university community to bring their own reusable cups. Participants who brought a personal cup to the event’s beverage station received a free drink sponsored by the event’s supporters. The campaign brought the University’s disposable items policy into the event’s beverage service, encouraged people to reuse their own containers, and supports the University’s commitment to sustainable consumption and waste reduction.

"SWU Green: Drink Safe, Cut Plastic" – Free Drinking Water Refill Stations

Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) provides free drinking water refill stations in buildings across Prasarnmit Campus, so that students and staff can refill their own bottles and cups instead of buying bottled water or drinks in single-use plastic cups. The University offers two types of stations: Type 1, hot, cold and room-temperature water dispensers; and Type 2, wall-mounted contactless refill stations with a UV system that dispense chilled water.

Canteens 1 and 2 on the ground floor, where the University’s outsourced food and beverage outlets operate, are equipped with both types of stations. Diners can refill their own bottles where they eat instead of buying drinks in single-use plastic packaging. This shows how the University’s disposable items policy extends to canteen services.

Type 1: Hot, Cold and Room-Temperature Water Dispensers

The Physical Development Division promotes these dispensers under the campaign “SWU Green: Drink Safe, Cut Plastic”, with a map of dispenser locations and a call for everyone to carry a reusable personal water bottle. The dispensers are located at Building 14 (lift lobbies, floors 1–8), Building 35 (Learning Tower, floor 2 lobby) and Canteens 1 and 2 (ground floor).

Campaign poster and map of dispenser locations

Building 14: lift lobbies, floors 1–8

Building 35 (Learning Tower): floor 2 lobby

Canteens 1 and 2: ground floor

Type 2: Wall-Mounted Contactless Refill Stations with UV System (Chilled Water)

These wall-mounted stations are installed at the M.L.Pin Malakul Service Building and Canteens 1 and 2 (ground floor). Users place a bottle or cup under the spout and fill it without touching the unit, which keeps refilling hygienic for every user.

M.L.Pin Malakul Service Building

Canteens 1 and 2: ground floor

Free Drinking Water for Student Well-being

The refill stations do more than cut plastic waste. They reflect the University’s care for the health and well-being of its students. Water at the stations passes through a filtration system, and the Type 2 stations add UV treatment, so students drink clean water that meets drinking water quality standards. Drinking water at SWU is therefore free in two ways: students pay nothing for it, and it is safe for their health. Each time a student refills a bottle instead of buying bottled water, they also take part in the University’s effort to reduce single-use plastics and disposable items on campus.