Why Do We Need It?
This page will highlight why the water bottle refilling stations are needed in our schools. Factors that will be considered are the environmental factor, the health factor, and the school factor.
Ithaca Factor
Ithaca High School in Ithaca, Michigan does not have a water bottle refilling station.
Environmental Factor
“Americans went through about 50 billion plastic water bottles in 2006. The recycling rate for PET is only 23%, which means 38 billion water bottles go into landfills each year--more than $1 billion worth of plastic.”
- July 2007, Fast Company Magazine, “Message in a Bottle” |
“According to Food & Water Watch, more than 17 million barrels of oil -- enough to fuel one million cars for a year-- are needed to produce the plastic water bottles sold in the United States annually.”
- August 2009, Washington Post, “Bottled Water Boom Appears Tapped Out” |
Water bottles are harming our Earth. Each day, millions of water bottles are thrown away. By installing a water bottle refilling station, one water bottle will be saved from the landfill each time the station is used. The oil used to make plastic bottles is taking away from other ways the oil could be used. So much oil is wasted in the making of plastic bottles. In the end, most of the plastic bottles are placed in landfills, and the oil is wasted. |
Health Factor
"Bottled water companies increasingly use BPA-free plastic, but laced into plastic bottles are other chemicals that can seep out if bottles are exposed to heat or sit around for a long time. Some of these chemicals are possible endocrine disruptors. No one knows for sure what the health outcomes are." - October 2013, Mind Body Green, "7 Reasons To Never Drink Bottled Water Again |
By refilling a heavy duty plastic water bottle instead of a cheap Nestle or Aquifinia plastic water bottle, humans will be at less of a risk for chemical contamination. The cheap plastic water bottles can release chemicals into the water. Those chemicals will then be ingested by the drinker. By refilling a heavy duty water bottle, humans will be at less of a risk.
School Factor
By installing these refilling stations in our school, our school will reduce on the amount of plastic water bottles thrown away each day.
The water bottle refilling stations will also encourage Shepherd High School Students to drink more water. If the students drink more water, it will increase their ability to focus. More focus will results in better grades. This will then result in better test scores, and better students. Installing a water bottle refilling station will issue a chain reaction in Shepherd High School. |