By: Andrew Ha
Reusable water bottles are a popular item among many students, yet the school has done nothing to cater to the students’ interest. With the increasing popularity of water bottles like Hydro Flask, students have been drinking a lot more water in school–which is good for hydration and staying healthy in general. Nevertheless, they are limited to the capacity of the bottle, for the school provides no direct method to refill student water bottles.
The main option people are left with is doing a balancing act at the water fountain, where people would need to make changes in the bottle’s angle to end up only getting a half-filled bottle. The problem with this method is that it’s wasteful, inconvenient, and unsanitary. A fair amount of the water misses the bottle and goes down the drain; it also takes time to figure out a way to get as much water in as possible. There’s also often a stigma attached to water fountains as being uncleanly and distasteful. The other option is to buy a plastic water bottle, but, as most people know, that is harmful to the environment. Rather than giving students a hard time or being eco-unfriendly, the school should invest in bottle filling stations.
These stations, which could be placed next to the current water fountains, would be an easy and fast way for students to refill their bottles. Students could simply place their bottles underneath the faucet, and many stations would automatically begin filling. Like for Elkay’s LZWSR EZH2O water filling station, bottles are filled up three times faster than traditional fountains. Moreover, the stations are more hygienic, because they don’t require any physical contact. Some people contend that there’s always a lot of germs around the faucet, but that is not true: everytime the faucet is on, the spout is rinsed. Therefore, there is near to no risk of getting sick from using a bottle filling station, especially those that are automatic. Some stations also come with included filtration, which cleans the water people drink and makes it taste better.
It’s also cheaper for students: buying a $20-30 bottle will allow students to refill hundreds if not thousands of times. A $1 plastic water bottle is often for single or double use and buying twenty of them would amount to buying one reusable bottle. Prices of these stations fluctuate from $500 to $1000 per station–a somewhat heavy price but one that will be worthwhile. The Elkay systems are energy efficient, because janitors can set them to shut down at certain times and change refrigeration options: these things will help reduce costs in the long run. Other options include getting grants from many charitable organizations as listed on the “Because Water” website. With long-term cost reductions and the opportunity for grants, these stations would be a monetarily viable option.
When refilling stations are easily accessible and convenient, more students would be encouraged to use reusable bottles, thus opt against the use of plastic bottles. Even though most bottles are already recycled at school, reducing the number of plastic bottles used would reduce the proliferation of plastic overall, helping the environment. It is certainly an investment school administrators should look into, for it is beneficial to all parties concerned.
