# Going Green in More Ways Than One: Carrying a Reusable Bottle Filling Station

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2019/08/going-green-in-more-ways-than-one-carrying-reusable-with-bottle-filling-station/
- Published: 2019-08-03T14:49:12-04:00
- Author: greenlivingguy

An average adult needs to drink approximately 48 ounces of water per day. So they
need a bottle filling station to maintain hydration for optimal health and wellness.

If you drink eight glasses of [tap water](https://greenlivingguy.com/2019/07/new-study-reveals-increased-threat-from-microplastics-in-treated-water/)
a day, it would cost you about [49 cents a year](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/weekinreview/15marsh.html?_r=1&).
However, if you got your hydration exclusively from bottled water, you’d pay about
$1,400, or 2,900 times more. [⌊Bottle filling station José cerna nmsu closeup using reusable bottle at elkay water fountain⌉](https://i0.wp.com/greenlivingguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/josc3a9-cerna-nmsu-closeup-1.jpg?quality=52&ssl=1)

And of course there are the obvious environmental implications. The United States
is the world’s leading consumer of bottled water. All with Americans drinking 26
billion liters from some 2.7 million tons of plastic bottles.  And sure, you could
recycle all that plastic, but according to the Container Recycling Institute, more
than 80 percent of those bottles end up in a landfill.  That’s a lot of waste. It
also takes about 17 million barrels of oil annually to create those bottles, according
to the [Earth Policy Institute](http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/plan_b_updates/2006/update51).
That’s enough oil to fuel more than 1 million cars for a year.  That’s a lot of 
oil.

So, whether your sustainability motivations for carrying a reusable bottle are financial
or environmental. Because it makes a lot of sense to use your own bottle. The question
is where to fill it when you’re on the go?

Thanks to the latest in water fountain innovation – bottle filling stations. Because
it’s never been easier to carry a reusable bottle to meet those daily hydration 
needs.  You may have seen them at the airport or your health club.

Sure, you could fill your bottle at a drinking fountain, but they weren’t designed
for that purpose, so it can be challenging to fill your bottle all the way.  A bottle
filling station can replace a traditional fountain or be added to an existing fountain,
and it dispenses water three times faster.

Elkay® has been [manufacturing products](https://greenlivingguy.com/2020/05/what-manufacturing-products-are-greener-than-others/)
here in the USA since 1920, and it recently launched new models of its ezH2O® bottle
filling station that offers additional energy savings. The stations have a programmable
setting to turn off the refrigeration portion for the unit when the facility is 
not in use, allowing buildings to cut the energy usage of the bottle filling station
dramatically.  Electronic sensors on a bottle filling station also offer touchless
sanitary operations with an automatic 20-second shut-off timer, ensuring that water
is not wasted.

With one filter in the bottle filling station, you can dispense the equivalent of
20,000 disposable bottles.  The station’s messaging system identifies how many 20
oz. water bottles are saved by its usage.

One success story includes an early bottle station adopter:  [New Mexico State University](http://www.elkay.com/ezh2o-casestudy-nmsu).
The University now has 34 ezH20 bottle filling stations. It also estimates these
bottle filling stations have saved more than 520,000 bottles. Finally, which equals
more than 21,600 pounds of 16.9 ounce bottles over a three-year period.

And it all starts with a bottle…

**_Courtesy of Elkay_**

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 greenlivingguy

 The Green Living Guy, Seth Leitman is an independent power producer, a green living
expert, and Editor of the McGraw-Hill, TAB Green Guru Guides. Seth is also an Author,
Radio Host, Reporter, Writer and an Environmental Consultant on green living. The
Green Living Guy writes about green living, green lighting, the green guru guides
and more. Seth's books range from: # Build Your Own Electric Vehicle by Bob Brant
and Seth Leitman (2nd and 3rd editions) # Build Your Own Plug-in Hybrid Electric
Vehicle by Seth Leitman # Build Your Own Electric Motorcycle by Carl Vogel # Green
Lighting by Seth Leitman, Brian Clark Howard and Bill Brinsky # Solar Power For 
Your Home by David Findley # Renewable Energies For Your Home by Russel Gehrke #
Do-it-Yourself Home Energy Audits by David Findley # Build Your Own Small Wind Power
System by Brian Clark Howard and Kevin Shea # and more green living books to follow.

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