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Cost Question for Water Bottle Stations
Associated Project(s):Hi Matt,
It’s nice to virtually meet you - I’m the Sustainability Programs Coordinator at iSEE. I’ve been working with colleagues involved in zero-waste efforts to start drafting a proposal to install hydration stations with water bottle refillers in residence halls on campus. Alma is supportive of this idea and approved the idea of submitting a proposal to the Student Sustainability Committee.
I was wondering if you have any cost information available for the following:
- Equipment cost of different models of hydration stations
- Installation costs
- Filter costs
- Maintenance costs (both for stations with filters and without)
If you can provide any of that info, that would be a big help. Please let me know if you have questions or need any clarification.
Best,
Miriam
Hi Miriam,
I’m glad to hear a proposal is in the works for hydration stations with water bottle refillers!
We’ll gather the information you’ve requested.
MATTHEW M. BROWN (he, him, his)
Director of Facilities for University Housing
Hi Matt,
I wanted to reach out again because we are aiming to submit a proposal by March 20, which is the Spring 2024 deadline for SSC project proposals over $10,000. Do you think it would be possible to gather the cost information before then?
I was also wondering if you could share insight on what a realistic timeline for this project could look like. If we receive SSC grant money at the end of May, would it be feasible to install the hydration stations over the summer?
Thanks and please let me know if you need any other info from me!
Best,
Miriam
Hi Miriam,
Here is information on these items:
- Equipment cost of different models of hydration stations – Filtered are around $1,500; Without filter around $1,000
- Installation costs – Estimate $250-$500
- Filter costs – $65-75 depending on model
- Maintenance costs (both for stations with filters and without) – minimal beyond changing filters
The installation timeline will vary depending on how many units are obtained and when. Summer is a very busy time of year for us. We would likely prioritize locations for installation if possible, work in as many as we can during summer, and continue steadily installing as needed.
MATTHEW M. BROWN (he, him, his)
Facility standards for hydration stations (water fountains)
Associated Project(s):Hi Mike,
I hope this message finds you well! I am Daphne, and I work under Pete Varney in TBS as the campus zero waste coordinator. I currently serve as the iCAP Zero Waste Team chair, and this year the team has been given a charge to develop a new facility standard for major reconstruction and new construction projects to include bottle-style hydration stations for new or replacement water fountains. A picture of an example hydration station has been attached.
I wanted to reach out and see if it would be possible to meet and discuss what the existing information is regarding facility standards for hydration stations?
Thank you!
Daphne
-------------------------
Lisa,
Would you be able to discuss this with Daphne, I can set it up if so?
Looks like the FS calls for a bottle filler as part of a water cooler. Daphne’s picture looks like an independent unit.
I doubt BMG (formerly OMA) will want to maintain another unit.
Mjs
--------------------------
Mike,
Here’s a cut sheet of a typical high-low water cooler with bottle filler.
Lisa
---------------------------
Daphne,
Below is a snipit of our Facilities Standards concerning the electric water fountain which includes a bottle filler, and attached is a cut of a unit.
If you would still like to chat, let me know, and I will set it up for next week.
We are also wondering, are you contemplating installing the hydration station in lieu of a standard water fountain, or in addition to the other units?
Thanks,
mjs
-------------------------
Hi Morgan & Jen,
Looping you in here for input before meeting with Mike. We are intending to make the standard for water fountains to include the bottle filler piece in all circumstances, is that correct? From what Mike is sharing here, it appears that the bottle filler piece is already included in the standard.
Thank you,
Daphne
--------------------------
Hi Daphne,
I would like to see bottle fillers (*without a filter indicator light*) included with all new water fountain installations.
Regarding Mike’s question: “We are also wondering, are you contemplating installing the hydration station in lieu of a standard water fountain, or in addition to the other units?”
If I understand correctly, this is a moot point because the unit we want is already the campus standard. Am I missing something?
Thanks,
Jen
Water filler stations
Associated Project(s):Hi Dave,
What effort and rough costs would it take to clean off the hard water stains on filler station spouts across campus?
Thanks,
Morgan
-----------------
Pete,
What do you think about this? I will see if we have a list.
Dave
-------------------
We do have a list…I’ll have to find it and get it to you.
Thank you,
Pete
-------------------
Is this the BSW team to do this work?
Dave
----------------
Yeah, we remove water stains from sinks and faucets. If the Plumbing shop doesn’t mind we can add it to our “to do” list.
Thank you,
Pete
----------------
Pete,
We view this as BSW work not the Plumbing shop.
Thanks,
Dave
-------------------
Hi Dave and Pete,
Pete – were you able to get some of these water bottle fillers cleaned, per the email below?
Dave and Pete – who would be responsible for resetting the filter status indicator light on the water hydration stations? I believe the filters would be replaced through BMG, but is the indicator light something that would be reset when the filter gets replaced? And I think there could be some hydration stations out there with no filter, but that still have a filter status indicator light…
Thanks,
Morgan
--------------------
Given our staffing shortages, we have not started working on this. It should be something we can get to over the winter break if hiring continues at the current pace.
Thank you,
Pete
iSEE uploads new video " Be Orange, Go Green: Eco-Friendly Hydration on Campus"
Associated Project(s):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qGob6lBsBE and now featured on the Reduce Single-Use Plastics Project Page.
iSEE uploads new video "Be Orange, Go Green at Illini Athletic Events"
Associated Project(s):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz1SnHq64XY and now featured on the Fighting Ilini, Fighting Waste Project Page.
7-24-23 Internal Meeting
Associated Project(s):On July 24, 2023 UIUC sustainability representatives met and discussed the following:
Attendance: Bryan Johnson, Pete Varney, Julie Wurth, Steve Breitwieser, Marty Kaufmann, Daphne Hulse
- Football
- Tailgating
- Operation
- F&S staples recycling information + map to blue bags
- Parking supervisors will hand out the blue bags
- 2 dumpsters placed (Lot 31, Lot 32). Blue bags collected here
- Grange Grove/entrances to Memorial Stadium: Coca-Cola bins to collect loose bottles and cans
- Plan for one of the earlier games (Sep)
- Assess how first game went, revise for a later game (Oct/Nov)
- Post-season: assess, revise for next season
- Operation
- Communication
- DIA gameday emails will include messaging about tailgate recycling
- Game script will call out hydration stations
- F&S – send campus-wide announcement (as was done for Dump and Run)?
- iSEE – newsletter?
- To do
- F&S scope out where the 2 dumpsters could be placed, confirm with DIA
- Determine placement of Coca-Cola bins: DIA recommends the 20 Coca-Cola bins are placed in Grange Grove/on the way into the stadium (portal 1 and 2)
- Staff recycling dumpsters to prevent them from becoming trash sites
- F&S may have a tent that can be used – check with Safety & Compliance
- iSEE does not have a tent
- F&S – print banners to hang on dumpsters?
- Green dumpster will be marked, ask Shawn Patterson
- Tailgating
- Welcome Week Lunch
- 7 student volunteers gathered + 2 F&S staff
- Volunteer / giveaway t-shirts
- 200 green volunteer shirts – for Welcome Week, Tailgating, and other small events that may arise
- 300 orange giveaway shirts – for Tailgate Recycling
- Incentivize tailgaters to drop off their blue recycling bags
- Coca-Cola bins
- Metal framing is expected to arrive Friday 8/11
- Wrap renderings are being finalized, discussing on Wednesday with Jake
- iSEE – hydration station map live
- https://sustainability.illinois.edu/be-orange-go-green-cut-plastic-use-with-a-refillable-bottle/
- iSEE developing a video highlighting campus hydration stations for new student convocation
- Football
iSEE filmed hydration station video for New Student Convocation
Associated Project(s):VMBS water fountains
Associated Project(s):Working on the inventory now, finding some strange things going on. Image below of recently installed machine in Vet Med.
Also, new fountains are being installed/replaced on campus. Probably should inform involved parties if we want all new fountains to be bottle fill capable.
Macie should have the info to you in the first week of August.
Thank you,
Pete
-------------------------
I’m looking at the email below and wondering if the Zero Waste iCAP Team would want to recommend that UIUC have a new facility standard for major reconstruction and new construction to include filler stations for new water fountains.
Morgan
-----------------------
I think it’s a good idea to require the installation of the *bottle-filler* style hydration station. I don’t know the pros/cons of specifying a campus standard. Maybe this is something the team can evaluate.
Daphne, feel free to suggest edits for the ZW priorities.
Morgan, let’s discuss the other items on this list when we meet today.
Thanks!
Jen
7-19-23 Sustainability Meeting with key DIA contacts
Associated Project(s):Attendance: Jen Fraterrigo, Daphne Hulse, Marty Kaufmann, Zach Acton, Tim Knox
Agenda
- Quick recap of past accomplishments and opportunities (Jen)
- Messaging about bringing reusable bottles into facilities (Jen), internal/external
- Zach and Marty commented that they are currently working on their game day website, and they will be updating their messaging regarding water bottles during this process/get an updated image for the clear bag policy.
- Tim and Zach are pushing for gate attendance to accurately assess water bottles at games (and work on not refusing the bottles that are accepted according to the policy).
- Selling reusable bottles at games/events and status of hydration stations (Jen)
- The Soybean Association handed out free water bottles at a game. DIA has no issue with this concept. Usually it is easiest to find a sponsor who can help with the purchasing.
- Game Day Spirit is the merchandise company.
- Huff Hall - DIA controls only Room 100, so any hydration stations would need to be funded by the state-supported facility.
- DIA noted that during softball the Monster water stations were a big hit. The DIA would look into where else the Monsters can be used.
- Messaging during games (Jen)
- It is easiest to provide content to DIA that can be disseminated with a social media focus, or through the game day script itself.
- Hydration stations can be highlighted in the script with a customer service/health & safety focus. It is easier to promote things when they fall under these categories.
- In the pre-game emails sent to ticketholders, we can also put content in here (we're not sure how many people really read through all the info provided in these emails, but it is another outlet).
- There are thousands of tailgaters who come only for the tailgating and will not attend the game, so they won't see this information necessarily.
- Zach noted that during game day press releases, DIA can give call outs to new stuff, so this may be another outlet.
- Recycling bins at SFC (Daphne)
- Recapped the two zero waste games held at State Farm Center, and the need for recycling on the upper concourse.
- The recommendation transmitted from the iWG was originally sent to the DIA, but State Farm Center is owned by both the DIA and Student Affairs (Lowa). Jen noted that the recommendation may need to be sent to Lowa, too.
- Marty has monthly meetings with Lowa, and will bring this up for conversation with him.
- Tailgating plans (Daphne)
- How many and which home games to focus on
- Locations for dumpsters where bags will be collected (2 lots?)
- DIA expects that walking the bags to the collection sites may be too much of an expectation for tailgaters. We'll have to test it and see.
- Volunteers picking up blue bags left behind in lots may be good.
- DIA is concerned that the dumpsters will become general trash piles, unless they are otherwise noted.
- (F&S will be providing banners for the dumpsters, and all dumpsters will be staffed with volunteers to avoid this pitfall)
- Confirm that parking lot/gate attendants will hand out blue bags
- Confirmed. The parking lot supervisors will assist with this task.
- Locations for 20 bins from Coke for unbagged recyclables
- North side of Grange Grove is predominantly students, and this would be a great area to place the bins.
- Portal 1 and Portal 2 on the west side of Memorial Stadium are the busiest entrances for games, so the bins in this area is great, too.
- Connecting with volunteer groups who clean up after games
- Did not get to this topic in the conversation, was sent as a follow up in email.
- Incentivizing volunteer participation
- Did not get to this topic in the conversation, was sent as a follow up in email.
Water bottle map updated to increase clarity on types of filler stations on campus
Associated Project(s):From: Mancuso, Anthony D <tmancuso@illinois.edu>
Sent: Friday, July 7, 2023 7:05 AM
To: Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>
Cc: Fraterrigo, Jennifer M <jmf@illinois.edu>
Subject: Re: Updated water filler station mapWe ALSO will have it up on our be orange go green page, which still awaits some edits from Jen.
Thanks.
T
Sent from my iPhone
On Jul 6, 2023, at 10:01 AM, Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu> wrote:
Yes, we’ll get this up! It will likely go on the zero waste page, which we are in the process of revamping.
Thank you,
DaphneFrom: Fraterrigo, Jennifer M <jmf@illinois.edu>
Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2023 9:14 AM
To: Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>; Mancuso, Anthony D <tmancuso@illinois.edu>
Subject: RE: Updated water filler station mapI think that looks great. I’m assuming F&S will post the map on their website. Can you send the URL?
Thanks!
Jen
From: Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>
Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2023 8:27 AM
To: Fraterrigo, Jennifer M <jmf@illinois.edu>; Mancuso, Anthony D <tmancuso@illinois.edu>
Subject: RE: Updated water filler station mapPlease see the attachment for the new map with the incorporated changes.
Thank you,
DaphneFrom: Fraterrigo, Jennifer M <jmf@illinois.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, July 5, 2023 10:56 AM
To: Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>; Mancuso, Anthony D <tmancuso@illinois.edu>
Subject: RE: Updated water filler station mapI agree with Tony about the striped shading. I also suggest we:
- change the title to “Locations of Campus Hydration Stations” to be consistent across platforms
- change “# of simple…” to “# of stations equipped with glass filler”
- change “# of fancy…” to “# of stations equipped with bottle filler”
Thanks,
Jen
From: Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, July 5, 2023 9:43 AM
To: Mancuso, Anthony D <tmancuso@illinois.edu>; Fraterrigo, Jennifer M <jmf@illinois.edu>
Subject: RE: Updated water filler station mapThanks, Tony, I’ll send this for feedback! Jen – any other changes you think need to be made?
Thank you,
DaphneFrom: Mancuso, Anthony D <tmancuso@illinois.edu>
Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2023 3:26 PM
To: Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>; Fraterrigo, Jennifer M <jmf@illinois.edu>
Subject: Re: Updated water filler station mapI have a problem with the legend. Numbers in the blue and orange dots represent?? Striped shading in the legend box also does not match the striped shading in the map (needs to be lighter).
--
TONY MANCUSO
Communications and Public Affairs Director
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE)Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI)
1101 W. Peabody, Suite 356 (NSRC) | M/C 635
Urbana, IL 61801
217.300.3546 | tmancuso@illinois.edu
www.sustainability.illinois.edu | cabbi.bio
Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act any written communication to or from university employees regarding university business is a public record and may be subject to public disclosure.Please consider the environment before printing out an email. Thank you!
From: Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>
Date: Thursday, June 29, 2023 at 3:14 PM
To: Fraterrigo, Jennifer M <jmf@illinois.edu>
Cc: Mancuso, Anthony D <tmancuso@illinois.edu>
Subject: Updated water filler station mapHi Jen,
Updated map with photos is attached – thoughts?
Thank you,
DaphneDaphne Hulse (she/her)
Zero Waste Coordinator
Facilities & Services | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
+1 (217) 333-7550 | dlhulse2@illinois.edu
Attached Files:Big Ten & Friends universities that have pursued plastic waste reduction
Associated Project(s):Naveen Reddy's (zero waste summer intern '23) examples of universities which have worked to address plastic waste on campus (case studies).
Attached Files:6-28-23 External Meeting
Associated Project(s):Attendance: Jake Slager, Shawn Patterson, Thurman Etchison, Jen Fraterrigo, Steve Breitwieser, Travis Tate, Shreya Mahajan, Daphne Hulse
Coke Updates:
- Jake is now officially solely focused on colleges and universities
- RVAT totes
- Nothing charged for totes or for transportation
- Chloroplast wrap and cut-outs are about $150 each x 20 = $3,000 (probably does not include transportation)
- Keep these recycling only
- 2-3 weeks lead time for wrap
- Coca-Cola has the rendering for royal blue. Can make tweaks and changes
- Couple $100 to edit or change the wrap design
- Daphne’s to-do: Update QR code for new website
- Make sure bins have clear messaging just for “bottles and cans”
- These bins would be used for tailgating near to Memorial Stadium, ideally
Reusable Cups/Bottles
- Coke is supportive of reusable cups
- Yeti sponsors for reusable cups
- Making an effort to push sustainability early in the college processes
- Encourage use of reusable bottles
- Use tap water from filler stations
- Cut back on waste
- Where there are purchases, ensure that the recycling bin is used
- Ohio State’s effort with reusable bottles has been mixed success (MyCup program)
- Indiana did something similar. It was costly and mixed results there, too
- Jake will get more plugged in on these programs at different schools
Athletics
-
- 100th year of Memorial Stadium
- Ohio State did something similar with their 100th year
- Sustainability can be incorporated in here, too
- 100th year of Memorial Stadium
Engagement opportunities
-
- GoGreen - Eric Green - not a large sample size
- Jake talked with David Watson, who is in contact with Eric
- Shreya’s experience as a student: without the incentive behind it, it’s not going to encourage students to regularly use it
- Looking into Rockwire Illinois App to see how we can encourage plastic reduction
- GoGreen - Eric Green - not a large sample size
Welcome Week
- T-shirts
- Mid July get the quantities for the welcome week
- Orange shirt may fit well with giveaway items for tailgating
Bigger Conversations
- Path forward - Be Orange Go Green, Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste, Don’t Waste
- How do we differentiate, make it clear to the public what is what?
- Is tailgating a fighting illini, fighting waste event?
Discovered University of Michigan's "Understanding Water Bottle Behavior of Students" Study
Associated Project(s):From: Fraterrigo, Jennifer M <jmf@illinois.edu>
Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2023 9:38 AM
To: Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>
Subject: water bottlesDaphne,
I came across this gem of a resource today: It is comprehensive and data-driven. The synthesis and recommendations at the end are excellent! Also, the fact sheet could help us streamline our education messaging.
https://graham.umich.edu/media/files/campus-course-reports/WaterBottleBehaviorFinalReport.pdf
Jennifer Fraterrigo (she/her)
iSEE Associate Director for Campus Sustainability and
Professor of Landscape and Ecosystem Ecology
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Illinois
W-423 Turner Hall, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801
jmf@illinois.edu
ph 217-333-9428Water Bottle Filling Info
Associated Project(s):Hi Jen,
CC’ed is the team of ENG 177 students who are working on the survey for water bottle filling stations. Can you send them the map of locations?
Also, do you happen to know who they might reach out to at F&S to get a quote on installation costs, or do you have that information?
Thanks,
Eric Green
------------------------------
Hi Eric and ENG 177 students!
I attached the most up-to-date map of bottle filling stations. I also attached a spreadsheet with the inventory for campus buildings, including residence halls, which have not yet been included in the map.
The cost of replacing an existing fixture with a new water cooler with a bottle filler is around $2,400. An install that requires additional plumbing will cost around $7,500.
Let me know if you need anything else or have any questions. I hope you will be able to determine student preference for bottle filler stations versus fountains with spigots, and provide recommendations about where to place them.
Thanks,
Jen
-----------------------------
Hi all,
As I mentioned previously, the main goal is to determine student preferences for bottle filler stations versus fountains with spigots, and provide recommendations about where to place filler stations. Students living in residence halls are an important target population for understanding preferences because survey data indicate that first- and second-year students consume more bottled water and believe that there are not enough convenient places to refill reusable bottles on campus.
Thanks and let me know if you have any questions.
Jennifer Fraterrigo
iSEE recommends filtered filler stations are installed going forward, based on survey results
Associated Project(s):From: Fraterrigo, Jennifer M jmf@illinois.edu
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2023 11:20 AM
To: Hulse, Daphne Lauren dlhulse2@illinois.edu
Subject: RE: Drinking water behavior surveyHI, Daphne.
This looks good. Given the results (esp. slides 18-20), I will suggest to Morgan that F&S only install filtered filler stations moving forward and also consider replacing spigots with filtered filler stations at some locations.
I will make a similar suggestion to Lowa for residence halls.
Thank you,
Jen
Analysis of the drinking water behavior survey is complete
Associated Project(s):Attached Files:F&S FIR updated the water bottle inventory map
Associated Project(s):On January 26, F&S FIR sent over the updated map (attached). Revisions include the new additions from Housing and McKinley. It also parses out the labels for total "fancy" and "simple" water bottle fill stations for each building.
Attached Files:Expanding the F&S FIR map to auxiliary facilities (McKinley, Housing)
Associated Project(s):On 1/24/23 Daphne Hulse sent F&S FIRS inventory information for McKinley and University Housing (attached), and requested the unit to update the existing map with this new information. Additionally, the new map will ideally differentiate between fancy and simple bottle fillers through symbols or colors.
Attached Files:iSEE and F&S initiate an analysis of the drinking water survey
Associated Project(s):Hi Daphne,
Morgan and I spoke yesterday about mining data from the drinking water behavior survey that Meredith led. I started a list of question that I shared with Meredith, but she does not have time to take look into them. Morgan suggested you would be interested in working on this and could recruit Alec McKay to perform the analysis.
The survey and responses can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSceArOvxVzrJDNEwuWICC8nY2sBsXaF1NgJp9ZXI9DJf1rAcQ/viewform?usp=sharing
My initial list of questions is below. There may be other items worth examining.
Let me know if you want to discuss further. I’ll reach out shortly about scheduling regular meetings.
Thanks,
Jen
*********************************
Hi Meredith,
I think it could be informative to analyze some of the responses to the survey. Specifically, it would be valuable to know if there is any consistency among respondents (in terms of gender identity and role on campus) to better target an information campaign. I made an initial list of questions and responses (below) that warrant a closer look (others could be added). Do you have an intern that could perform an analysis?
- Agree or strongly agree to the statement: “Bottled water is my primary source of drinkable water.”
- 4 or 5 to the question: “To what degree do you prefer one type of water over another? Tap vs filtered” or “tap vs bottled” or “Filtered vs bottled”
- 4 or 5 to “Bottled water is safer to drink than tap water.”
- 4 or 5 to “Filtered tap water is safer to drink than tap water.“
- 4 or 5 to “One single-use bottle of water does not yield a significant environmental impact.“
Jennifer Fraterrigo (she/her)
iSEE Associate Director for Campus Sustainability and
Professor of Landscape and Ecosystem Ecology
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Illinois
W-423 Turner Hall, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801