In an effort to promote sustainability and reduce plastic waste, six new water bottle refill stations have been installed across The Ohio State University Columbus campus, thanks to a grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The initiative, led by former university student and current Zero Waste coordinator, Logan Gould, aims to provide accessible hydration options while encouraging the use of reusable water bottles.
“Having accessible water bottle refill stations encourages students and staff to use reusable water bottles, helping reduce single use water bottles and divert more plastic waste from landfills,” said Gould.
The idea came to mind when Gould was a Zero Waste intern and member of Students for Recycling.
“Although plastic water bottles are recyclable, they’re not infinitely recyclable as their quality declines with each time they’re recycled,” he explained. “This led us to push the campus community to use reusable water bottles as a solution, alongside recycling when reusable water bottles aren’t on hand.”
Seeing an opportunity through the Ohio EPA’s Recycling Ohio Grant program, Gould led the application process in collaboration with other Students for Recycling members and Administration and Planning (A&P) departments.
“Students for Recycling collected extensive data on campus buildings that lacked accessible water bottle refill stations and conducted a student survey during Time for Change Week in 2023,” he said. “The survey provided valuable insights into student perceptions of the existing infrastructure, strengthening the case for additional refill stations.”
The grant application was submitted in 2023 and officially awarded in March 2024. Now, six new refill stations have been installed in the following academic buildings:
- 209 West 18th Ave.
- Arps Hall
- Baker Systems Engineering
- Enarson Classroom Building
- Hopkins Hall
- Mendenhall Lab
“The success of this initiative was made possible thanks to the support of JR Rinehart, operations planner for Facilities Operations and Development (FOD), Jason Warthman, plumbing manager for FOD, whose teams helped overcome infrastructure challenges and ensured smooth installation of these stations.”