11. Problems of bottled water
Total PET bottles recycled in the Netherlands, 2008
Recycled
32%
68%
Wasted
Agentschap NL, 2006-2011
CBS, 2010
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12. Problems of bottled water
Total PET bottles recycled in the Netherlands, 2011
Recycled
50,000 Tons 40%
60%
Wasted
VROM-Inspectie, 2010
Bureau B&G, 2011
CBS, 2011
20/06/2012 12
13. Problems of bottled water
Small PET bottles recycled in the Netherlands, 2011
Recycled 20%
20,000 Tons
80%
Wasted
VROM-Inspectie, 2010
Bureau B&G, 2011
CBS, 2011
20/06/2012 13
32. Common objections
“Would you fill up your water bottle in the restroom?”
10%
“Why not go to the tap in restrooms for example?”
Yes, all the time
40% Sometimes
30% Rarely
Never
20%
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33. Common objections
“Why not go to the tap in restrooms for example?”
« Most people have not washed their
hands before touching the tap »
« I don’t find the restrooms to be very
clean »
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34. Common objections
“Would you fill up your water bottle at a water tap station?”
20%
Yes, I would
Yes, sometimes
10% 50% Maybe
Not at all
20%
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35. Common objections
Lifecycle lifetime
“The bottles and water tap stations are expensive”
1 hour
Regular plastic bottles Our bottles
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37. Summary
✓ All problems caused by bottled water
Tap water as the only way to go
The HZ University can contribute & benefit
No profound objections
20/06/2012 37
38. Summary
All problems caused by bottled water
✓ Tap water as the only way to go
The HZ University can contribute & benefit
No profound objections
20/06/2012 38
39. Summary
All problems caused by bottled water
Tap water as the only way to go
✓ The HZ University can contribute & benefit
No profound objections
20/06/2012 39
40. Summary
All problems caused by bottled water
Tap water as the only way to go
The HZ University can contribute & benefit
✓ No profound objections
20/06/2012 40
Today about 1 million tons of plastic debris (such as plastic bottles), with the size of Europe, is floating around in our oceans…
…than I will show you tap water as the alternative…
…after my colleague Benjamin will mention all the benefits of our water tap stations for the HZ University…
…and he will finish by going over the most common objectives we’ve encountered.
You can divide the problems of bottled water into 3 categories, which is in fact the entire lifecycle of the product.It starts with the production of plastic bottles which involves the use of very dangerous chemicals. The composition of all these chemicals (abbreviated PET) necessary to make a plastic bottle require a tremendous amount of natural resources and take hundreds of years to decompose.
Then, the actual water used, promises (according to the manufacturer) to come from very far and exotic places on the other side of the globe and needs to be shipped-in via these huge container boats that heavy pollute our environment.…Additionally, trucks carrying the water to the next location drive most of the time half-empty due to the enormous weight of the water.
Thirdly, is waste management. The plastic bottles are being thrown away after being used only once?! This is the manufacturer’s intention because the bottles are not mend to last more than once. Research has shown that disposable bottles already begin to decompose after using them a couple of times …so it’s very unhealthy to use these bottles more than once.This makes recycling the bottles of utmost importance! …However, only a few countries worldwide actually recycle plastic bottles. So, how do we do this in the Netherlands?
Well, in 2008, the Netherlands aimed at a 32% recycle of all plastic bottles.
Now, they’ve managed to increase this to 60%, but according the to the Dutch government ‘more’ is simply not achievable. Nevertheless, ladies and gentlemen, 30, 60 or 100% recycling… we are talking about 50,000 tons of plastic bottles that are still produced every single year!And when we look at the numbers of small plastic bottles (The type mostly used for bottled water) the numbers are even worse!
Here, only 20% gets to be recycled and a staggering total 20,000 tons of these bottles are produced every single year!So what happens with the other 80% ??
In this country, today, 80% of these bottles end up just between all the other house garbage and only a very primitive manual selection method is used to filter-out some of the disposed plastics.So we can basically conclude here that bottled water is polluting our environment in every single step of its lifecycle. And no matter what we do, bottled water will always be an unsustainable source of our fresh water.
So now that we’ve seen the problems of bottled water…
…let me show you why tap water is the alternative.
Well, first of all: we have plenty of it?! Our nation has an infinite supply of groundwater, so we no longer need to import this from the Alps, Canada or Fiji…
Secondly, our ground water is very easily purified by which we also use natural methods, such as coastal dunes, to act as a filter. As you can see in this simple diagram: water seeps into the ground at various places. Than, groundwater is being pumped up and filtered by fine and course sands. Than it gets further cleaned and gathered for further distribution to the end consumers.This makes it a much cleaner and more sustainable source for our fresh water.
…and this clearly shows in the price of our tap water. Did you know that bottled water is more than 1,500 times more expensive? Think about that!Why are we paying so much more for bottled water when a litre of tap water will cost you only 1,5 tenth of a cent, and it’s also being produced in a much more sustainable manner?
So, now that we have seen that tap water is the best alternative…
…my colleague will explain to you how the HZ University can use the benefits of tap water.
JoinThePipe came with the solution and designed a set of water tap stations for everybody. There are ones for the little children all up to the University students… (or something like this)The water tap stations start at a price of €2,500
These water tap stations creates easy assess to clean, cheap and healthy drinking water for all HZ students and staff members.
In addition, JoinThePipe also designed a set of sustainable water bottles, that resemble a water pipe line. They leach no chemical traces and last a life-time.Now, the students no longer have to use disposable plastic bottles but instead, they can just buy this one. The bottles cost €17,50 eachJoke: (tell with a smile ;-) However, we received some comments that the bottles weren’t ‘appealing’ to everybody, so we also made a pink one for the ladies and an orange one for Dutch soccer fans.
So, we can conclude that…(1) …it all starts with a water tap station at the HZ University,(2) …which provide easy access to drinking water,(3) …which in turn, stops the pollution of plastic bottles,(4) …that will reduce global plastic waste,(5) …and result in a cleaner environment.
….this will show, once again, that the HZ University cares about the environment and is a pioneer when it come to sustainable innovation!
So, now that we’ve seen the benefits for the HZ University…
…let me discuss some of the most common objections with you.
The most pronouncing objection is that bottled water is more healthy for you. You can easily get this impression when you look at how bottled water is been advertised and marketed by the manufacturers. But, did you know that most of its manufacturers are not obligated by law to tell customers where exactly their water comes from. In fact, 25% of bottled water turns out to be plain tap water?!Also, scientific research from the “National Resource Defense Council” (NRDC) has shown that bottled water is not healthier at all.http://www.waterbenefitshealth.com/tap-water-vs-bottled-water.html
Another common objection is that: “The bottles and water tap stations don’t look attractive”Therefore, you can customise the bottles by any colour you like, and you can even have your own logo printed on them.
In addition, you can even have your water tap station painted in any colour you like or have your text written on them.
Another common objection would be: “Why not goingto the tap in restrooms?”We’ve conducted a small survey amongst random students at the HZ asking them: “Would you fill up your water bottle in the restroom?”The results show that the majority objects to this.
Some of the arguments given were that: “Most people have not washed their hands before touching the tap” and “they don’t find the restrooms to be very clean”.
So to complete our survey we asked them: “Would you fill up your water bottle at a water tap station?”The results were surprisingly good and the majority is very willing to start using a water tap station at the HZ University!
Another objection was about the price. Our water bottles and water tap stations are expensive.Plastic bottles are products of mass consumption which means they are made to be disposed quick after usage. Wether it is on the ground or in the bin, they still don’t last for more than an hour. tim However, our bottles are made of sustainable materials and will last you a lifetime.
In addition, with the sales of water tap stations and bottles we finance water & sanitation projects in Africa & India.
So, having a water tap station at the HZ University, students become responsible for 0% of plastic pollution.
…and you can restasure that your children will enjoy the clean site of nature.
