When H2Only Disposed of Disposable Bottles
In 2008 (yes- that year of recession, when all small businesses were struggling to hang on), we made a huge and pretty scary decision.
We had been selling disposable bottles, just like the big beverage companies. But seeing that bottle made us aware that, as manufacturers, we are responsible for this beautiful earth we live on. Disposable bottles were taking off, and where were they going? Very little of that plastic ends up being reused.
Wilma saw one of our H2Only disposable 500ml bottles lying in a ditch. That woke us up and changed everything.
Money was there to be made, but we couldn't in good conscience continue. We made what many would consider a 'bad business decision': We sold all that bottling equipment and reduced the size of our facility.
It is estimated that as little as 10% of PET disposable bottles are recycled. Even the most generous plausible estimates put it well below 30%. Once that 10-30% arrives at the recycling facility, as little as 5% is processed into other commodities. Even the recyclers cannot sell them and so send them to the dump. In other words, as much as 99% of PET bottles being bought end up as landfill or pollution. Even today, 15 years later.
So here's the thing: You can choose H2Only to meet your water needs. You may have had different reasons for choosing us (our service, price, or how we do things), but you will also also be choosing the purest water available in Southern Ontario. You will also be choosing a company passionate about caring for our world.
We operate with very little actual waste:
- all of the used caps are recycled
- all of the cardboard is either reused or recycled
- all of our broken bottles are recycled (and they are polycarbonate, not PET, so they are a valuable recycling commodity. They certainly don't go to the dump.)
- we use straps/ropes/bungee cords to secure the skids on the trucks rather than plastic wrap
- we encourage the use of (and sell, incidentally) refillable sport bottles
- we organize our routes to reduce fuel consumption and have specific delivery days for different locations across Niagara
- our worn out coolers are sent to our metal recycler next store to our facility
- our suppliers are as close as we can source them, almost all Canadian.
How much garbage does H2Only actually produce? In the shop, one small (office-size) garbage can takes months to fill, and our office paper waste is the same size container every couple of weeks! So very, very little.
If you choose to drink H2Only water, not only will you choose the best water for your health. You will also be deciding to support a company that cares deeply about our planet. We and our clients have already saved the earth from trying to deal with roughly 35,000,000 disposable bottles over the last 15 years! Each five-gallon bottle is the equivalent of three dozen disposable bottles. Let that sink in for a moment.
H2Only is a better alternative!