Refill Stations and Reducing Plastic Water Bottle Usage
We have four water refill stations in our school that were donated by Vineyard Conservation Society. We are interested in monitoring the impact of these stations by keeping track of the number of refills obtained at each station. We are collecting numerical data from the water refill stations around MVRHS on a regular basis. We would like to keep track of how frequently the stations are used to help our school community keep in mind the value of having clean, filtered water and reducing the use of plastic water bottles. We also hope to enhance the refill station area by painting the walls and adding quotes to the spaces.
2019-20 Refill Station Monitoring and Painting Area around Stations
Current Efforts:
We created a google form to use to collect refill data.
We go around and fill out the form each class (every other day).
The data goes directly to a google sheet which has the number of plastic bottles saved from each day we filled out the form.
We hope to use the data to possibly advocate for additional stations.
We are also considering working with the cafeteria to create a station for sanitized water bottles that students may take and use, and then return to be washed by the cafeteria
We began painting the area surrounding our four stations to enhance the space, and this work was completed by the school during the covid stay-at-home time.
The last step will be working on
Group(s): Leadership Class, Protect Your Environment Club
Student Leader(s): Alison Custer, Ava Vought, Adrienne Christy, Eloise Christy, Thalia Frangos
Faculty Mentor(s): Natalie Munn, Louis Hall
Past Work
2018-2019 Take Back the Tap
Throughout the year MVRHS students worked with Vinyard Conservation Society to organize a project called Take Back the Tap. A large part of the project was looking at creating a Tap Map of local organizations that would offer easy-to-access water bottle refills. Additionally, the group worked to look at ways to reduce plastic usage, and did some awareness-building table events in the cafeteria. They also explored a counter for recycled bottles. Alexis Condon worked in the spring on getting used, donated bottles and sanitizing them in the cafeteria, then offering them free of charge to students needing a bottle.
Collapsible cup tabling event
Tap vs Bottled tabling event
Entered the Lexus EcoChallenge
Created a recycled bottle counter
Created a station to give out used, sanitized water bottles in the cafeteria
Student Leader(s): Alexis Condon, Caroline Hurley, Chloe Combra, Kieran Karabees, David Krauthamer, Danielle Middleton, Alexander Nagle, Stella Napior, Kaya Seiman, Amelia Simmons
Faculty Mentor(s): Natalie Munn, Signe Benjamin (Vineyard Conservation Society), Sam Look (Vineyard Conservation Society)
The original version of a Tap Map of some of the locations.
Kaya Seiman leads the Collapsible Cup Tabling Event where a raffle was held for 5 unique collapsible cups. The convenience of collapsible cups are ideal to use on the go and to bring to school. They can easily fit in backpacks and purses.
LEC Action Plan_ Reducing Our Energy Needs by Reducing Our Carbon Footprint.pdfLexus Air & Climate EcoChallenge Participant
Managing plastic waste through a three-pronged action plan including Take Back the Tap MV, Plastics Reduction in the High School, & Monitoring Plastic Waste on Island Beaches
A meeting in the early stage of the project with Signe Benjamin from Vineyard Conservation Society outlining the details of the action plan.
Take Back the Tap MV logo designed by Lauren Boyd.
A prototype of a plastic water bottle counter being tested in the cafeteria. Inside, there is an electronic counter that detects motion and keeps track of how many water bottles are deposited.