Why a water tank in the office is not sustainable
Why a water dispenser at work is not sustainable
You know them: the plastic water tank or water dispenser that is parked somewhere in a corner of the office.
Every now and then a bit of cold water is tapped. An excellent system for chilled water, you might think.
Yet there are better and more sustainable alternatives.
Transport and lugging
Although the water dispenser produces nice chilled water, it is not very sustainable. After all, the water has to be transported in bottles or tanks of 19 litres and the empty tanks have to be collected again.
There are also disposable bottles that fit in the water dispenser, but they create a lot of plastic waste that is certainly not always neatly separated in the office.
Moreover, the stock of water tanks takes up a lot of space in the office and it causes a lot of lugging. The water barrels are not very cheap either. All this while getting perfect water from every tap in the office. That is also cool but not cold. Can’t it be otherwise?
Spring water = tap water
But the bottles contain spring water, right? That’s right, but both spring water and tap water are extracted from natural or underground sources. In 60% of cases, spring water is extracted from the same layer in the ground as tap water. In that respect, tap water is not that different from spring water.
For example, the Keuringdienst van Waarde made an episode in which they showed that the spring water of some brands comes from exactly the same source as the tap water. “In Utrecht you simply flush your toilet with spring water,” was the conclusion.
Clean drinking water for all
More than 700 million people still don’t have access to safe water.
We are the Made Blue Foundation and our mission is clean drinking water for all.
Will you help us achieve our mission? There are more ways to do this than you might think.
Not sustainable, but expensive
The 19 litre water bottles for the water tank or dispenser at the office cost an average of at least 10 euros each. That is more than 50 cents per litre. That’s not really economical.
As a consumer in the Netherlands you pay about 1.50 per 1000 litres of tap water. Companies often pay a lot less. Tap water is therefore at least 300 times cheaper than a watertank with a tap.
In addition, you also pay rent for the cheap water tank. The rent is often low and a trial installation is free because the money is earned with the bottles or tanks. You can buy those water tanks at a hefty rate.
Tap water coolers
The water from the tap is not always as cold as from the water tank and that is a pity, especially in a hot summer.
The alternative to a water tank is therefore a tap water cooler. A tap water cooler is connected to the tap and converts tap water into filtered, cooled still and sparkling tap water.
So the best of both worlds! But also the best water for the world, because each water cooler provides 1,000,000 liters of clean drinking water in developing countries.
1.000.000 liter
of clean drinking water
= 7.000 kg
of CO2-emissions prevented
+ 500.000
plastic bottles or bags saved
150 trees
saved
enormous impact
771 million people still have no access to clean drinking water. They cannot build a healthy and productive existence. We want to do something about that. Each Made Blue water cooler provides 137 people with clean drinking water for a year.
This also results in significant CO2 savings because people no longer have to boil dirty water. Many trees are therefore preserved. This also prevents a lot of disposable plastic for packaged water in slums.
Always a suitable solution
A water cooler in the pantry, a freestanding appliance, built-in, with hot water option, contactless… Everything is possible.
All you need is a power socket and a standaard washing machine tap nearby.
At Made Blue you receive a communication package with every water cooler and we are happy to provide you with matching glassware or, for example, reusable water bottles for your colleagues.
Contribute to our mission too
You can do so in more ways than you might think.
