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water
This is a story about wearing down waste, drop by drop.
Time was, our tap water picked up an off-taste on its way through our building’s old pipes, and periodically we received official notices about some dubious substances in the water. People really didn’t like drinking the tap water. MACED used a lot of bottled water, even though we charged staff 25¢ per bottle.
The O-Team’s first attempt at reducing bottled water was to install water filters in our two kitchens. They helped fix the taste and filter out the stuff that didn’t belong. Eventually the water utility dealt with its issues and the quality of water coming into the building was better. MACED gave staff re-usable water bottles for a 30th anniversary gift. But still, the O-Team watched the plastic bottles go into the recycling bin, week after week. We were buying the water from a local spring, but still … all those bottles.
We took a suggestion and started buying bottled water in five-gallon jugs from the same local spring. This reduced our bottle use a lot. Approximately 110 jugs a year means 2,000 bottles that never get into the recycling stream! We followed up with a couple of subtle changes. When we set up for meetings, we put out glasses and water in pitchers. We moved the bottles from a too-convenient location.
Though some staff still go for a bottle of water as they head out the door, they’re more likely now to stop at the water cooler and refill their re-usable containers. Drop by drop, we’re changing habits and saving water!
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Enterprise Development | Forestry | Research & Policy | How$martKY | Energy Efficient Enterprises
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