If you’ve been in the basement of the new Student Center, then I’m sure you’ve seen the brand new water bottle filling station that has been put on top of the water fountain down there. This station is the first one to be installed on campus by making its way into the design of the new basement.
This station is one design that has been created by Elkay as a part of their EZH2O products. One of the seven possible styles available, this bottle filling station is filtered to provide clean and great tasting water. If you look on the upper left hand corner, you’ll see a small green “ticker” with numbers on it – this tracks how many 20 oz. bottles have been saved from landfills due to this machine.
One big thing about this new addition is that it’s completely hands free because it is sensor activated. This means you don’t have to worry about the person in front of you getting germs all over the water fountain! All you have to do is put your bottle underneath the dispenser and it will provide enough water to fill your container. The great thing about this is that it is still a functioning water fountain – it’s possible to use the regular fountain, as well as the bottle filling station!
Marist Student Government is currently looking into advocating to put these bottle filling stations throughout campus, including proposing to put these in freshman dorms and most, if not all, academic buildings. This station is the first of hopefully many more to come! The hope would be to eventually become a completely plastic water bottle free campus, although that would take some time to achieve. In the mean time, we can all use this great new addition – just keep your eye out for more to come!
If you have any questions about the water bottle filling stations or any other Student Government projects, feel free to stop by the SGA Office in the Student Center or contact us via email! Drink up!
– Samantha Monroe
maristcollegestudentgovernment 