Bottleless Water: How to Sustainably Quench our Thirst

glass%20of%20water.jpg We drink bottled water because we are made to believe it is better for us–the liquid is somehow purer, fresher, and/or safer than water that comes straight from the tap. This is simply not the reality, and Quench shows us how water can be purified simply, economically, and more sustainably than bottled water options.
By consuming bottled water we contribute to a host of environmentally damaging activities. For example, we use around 1.5 million barrels of oil per year to produce plastic bottles in the States (not including transport services), we rarely recycle the bottles after we use them (only 1 in 5 on average), and we contribute to the depletion of remote natural water sources if the company is true to it’s bottle labeling. Not to mention that often the product is no better than regular tap water. Eric Goldstein from the Natural Resources Defense Council explains, “No one should think that bottled water is better regulated, better protected, or safer than tap.”
Bottle water aside, demand nonetheless exists for purified water. Quench brings a solution to this; a UV filtration system that is efficient, relatively inexpensive and is simple to have installed and maintained.

The product is a bottleless water cooler that directly connects to your water source. The technology incorporates six different layers of filters and a UV purification process, producing water that is cleaner than regular tap water, and likely of a higher quality than bottled water too.
Rich Angstadt from Quench explains that the system operates using reverse osmosis technology and is very efficient, lasting for many years in most office scenarios. As a comparison, he says that “the silver pure filter is rated for 1,500 gallons or more than 250 traditional 5 gallon water cooler bottles.” Quench says that the service is economical too, but you can decide for yourself if it is a cost-saving choice on their website where they have a tailored calculator service.
Of course, the bottleless water coolers promoted by Quench (and other providers) aren’t totally endorsed as “green” with a number of concerns needing to be investigated about the environmental impact of the filters themselves. For example, how are they disposed and how frequently, what materials are used to make the systems, is there “leaching” potential, etc. are all still issues that need to be addressed. But it seems that Quench offers a greener choice than bottled water–it will certainly mean less bottles in landfills–and healthy drinking water for consumers too.