As water refill stations become more common, consumer habits of carrying reusable bottles haven’t necessarily kept up. That’s why FloWater, a company that makes refill stations, is now beginning to offer a new type of aluminum reusable bottle next to its equipment — for roughly the same cost as premium bottled water sold in single-use plastic.
The bottle — made entirely out of recyclable aluminum — is designed to retail for $2 or $3 and can be reused as many as 20 times before it’s recycled. It also carries on its label and informative message aimed at persuading consumers to reuse the bottles as much as possible instead of tossing them out after first use.
The company has been targeting single-use plastic for some time already. FloWater has around 5,000 refill stations in the US at locations like gyms, schools, hotels, and retails stores. According to the company, by installing their water dispensers in these locations, single-use packaging waste has dropped by as much as 80%.
The multi-use bottle is expected to do the same, and the FloWater predicts that similar concepts could translate to other products as well, such as soda, energy drinks, and other beverages.
