Page 1 of 5 Flo Water Refill Stations Date: 10/15/12 Project title: Flo Water Refill Station Amount requested: Quote requested, waiting on response Proposal authors: Katie Luper Contact information: Katie: 907-590-0545; [email protected]Academic department, year in school, undergraduate or graduate standing: Katie: Communications; freshman undergraduate Sustainability theme – Waste Management; Student benefit and education Project summary: People buy bottled water for the perceived quality, taste, convenience, brand appeal, chilled, sanitation, and to avoid an unappealing alternative. And this is especially important at UAF because many people complain and dislike the taste. Plastic water bottles take thousands of years to decompose and only 13% are recycled. Our goal is to place Flo Water Refill Stations around campus for students to fill up their water bottles. This is to reduce the amount of plastic water bottles purchased. A second component to this project is to have a petition to eliminate plastic water bottles in vending machines. Project description: Our first emphasis is to put the Flo Water Refill Stations in dorms for students. There have been many students that have addressed us on wanting more water bottle filling stations across campus. These filling stations filter water by 6 methods; sediment filter, carbon filter, reverses osmosis, coconut oxygen injections, and a remineralization system. Reverse osmosis can be taken out of the machine. Some campuses using this system have chosen to do this to save 80% of the water gone through reverse osmosis. Sometimes plastic water bottle companies filter their water too much and take out the
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Flo Water Refill Stations
Date: 10/15/12 Project title: Flo Water Refill Station Amount requested: Quote requested, waiting on response Proposal authors: Katie Luper Contact information: Katie: 907-590-0545; [email protected] Academic department, year in school, undergraduate or graduate standing: Katie: Communications; freshman undergraduate Sustainability theme – Waste Management; Student benefit and education Project summary: People buy bottled water for the perceived quality, taste, convenience, brand appeal, chilled, sanitation, and to avoid an unappealing alternative. And this is especially important at UAF because many people complain and dislike the taste. Plastic water bottles take thousands of years to decompose and only 13% are recycled. Our goal is to place Flo Water Refill Stations around campus for students to fill up their water bottles. This is to reduce the amount of plastic water bottles purchased. A second component to this project is to have a petition to eliminate plastic water bottles in vending machines. Project description: Our first emphasis is to put the Flo Water Refill Stations in dorms for students. There have been many students that have addressed us on wanting more water bottle filling stations across campus. These filling stations filter water by 6 methods; sediment filter, carbon filter, reverses osmosis, coconut oxygen injections, and a remineralization system. Reverse osmosis can be taken out of the machine. Some campuses using this system have chosen to do this to save 80% of the water gone through reverse osmosis. Sometimes plastic water bottle companies filter their water too much and take out the
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healthy minerals. The remineralization system puts minerals back in the water, making it healthier and more hydrating. The benefits to the machine are a zero waste alternative to bottled water and they are easily converting bottled water purchasers to using the reusable water bottle refillers. The machines are free of charge. They offer two payment options. The first option is a monthly rental fee around 70-100 dollars. The second option is revenue sharing which means students would pay between 10-50 cents for a water fill and the profits would be shared between the company and university. They are releasing a new model for distribution in about two months and are free to ship up. The Flo Water Refill Stations will be very beneficial to students and will decrease the amount of plastic water bottles that are purchased and dumped in landfills. For this project to be successful we will need to eliminate plastic water bottles in vending machines. We will have a petition in the wood center and MBS. The petition will say, I the a faculty, staff, or student support eliminating plastic water bottles from vending machines and replacing them with refilling stations.
Project value: We are requesting a proposal to either rent the stations for about 70-100 dollars per month or to charge students no more than 50 cents and share the profits with the company. If decided to do the charging options we could use the money to give back to the students in purchasing the students water bottles at new student orientation with the sustainability logo if desired. Implementation plan:
Date
What will be done
Responsible Person
Funds used
November Meeting with Residence Life
Katie Luper $0
November Information and Petition Table
Katie Luper Korlyn Bolster
$200 Fliers Food
Outreach Plan: What outreach Venue Date Who will do
it Article about project
Sun star, Cornerstone
January/February Katie/Korlyn
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Public Service Announcement PSA
Cornerstone, Sun star, radio show, Facebook, chalking
January/February Katie/Korlyn
Budget:
Monthly cost option: $70-100
Quantity and Unit Price
$0 for as many fill stations desired.
Revenue Plan Charge 10-30 cents Receive 20-30% profit
Outreach $200
Total $200 $0 for machines $70-100 per month
Budget justification: There is no deposit or initial money needed for the water filling stations and outreach costs. If option 1 is decided there will be a monthly fee between $70-100. Qualification & Experience: I have been working at the Office of Sustainability since May 2012 as a communications and marketing student assistant. In my experience I have learned the ins and outs of the process of a proposal project. I can continue to work with Michele Hebert and Korlyn on making the project a success. Technical advisers and collaborators: Michele Hebert; Director of the Office of Sustainability Michele will help to be a liaison between the various departments and guiding students in the process. Attachments:
