Water: The High Environmental Cost of a Free Resource

Your bottleless water cooler is a great way to save money, but did you also know that going bottleless reduces your carbon footprint? Watch these surprising videos below

Bottled Water vs Tap Water on 20/20		Tap Water vs. the Water Bottle

The hazardous effects of bottled water on the environment

• Our customers find Bottle-Free coolers to be more environmentally friendly than bottled water. They use their bottleless coolers more frequently, and find that there is less debris (i.e. gigantic plastic bottles) associated with this type of office water system.
• There is increasing concern about the disastrous effects of all of the plastic bottles thrown into landfills and the ocean. By one estimate, U.S. drinkers toss 60 million plastic water bottles a day. In fact, in 2006, Americans tossed plastic water bottles into landfills worth almost $1 BILLION. (Fast Company, July 2007)
• Wasted gas and vehicle pollution is associated with delivering 5 gallon bulk bottled water. We are moving 1 billion bottles of water around a week in ships, trains, and trucks in the United States alone. That is a weekly convoy equivalent to 37,800 18-wheelers delivering water. Water weighs 8 1/3 pounds per gallon. It is so heavy you can not fill an 18-wheeler with bottled water--you have to leave empty space. (Fast Company, July 2007)
• According to environmental groups, four out of five plastic water bottles end up on landfill sites where they rarely biodegrade. The production of bottles involves the refinement of petrochemicals, releasing noxious gas into the air we breathe and waste into our groundwater and soil.
• Americans use 2 million barrels of oil every day to make plastic. That represents about 10% of the nation's total oil consumption. Even so, 72% of Americans do not know that plastic is made from oil and 40% believe that plastic tossed into the trash will eventually biodegrade in a landfill (it will not). The average American believes (mistakenly) that about 40% of plastic is eventually recycled. The actual figure is less than 6%. (Spirit Magazine 2007)

(For more information, Think Outside the Bottle is an excellent source.)

Luckily, a bottleless water cooler is a great step toward reducing your carbon footprint and saving the environment for future generations. The solution is right in front of us. Together, let's eliminate the bottle!