It’s 5:48 p.m. Wednesday. On the first floor of the Reitz Union — just outside the food court entrance closest to the Collonade — a green, glowing counter reads 78,698.
The tiny screen indicates how many plastic bottles of water have been saved by the purified water fountain outfitted with a refill station.
The fountain is one of five that have been placed throughout the Reitz Union since February 2010.
In one year, the refilling stations have saved about 154,000 12-ounce bottles of water.
The fountains first appeared after Reitz Union officials noticed students filling up their empty water bottles at older fountains, said Mike Mironack, director of operations at the Reitz Union.
In addition to seeing a need for a place for students to get a refill, administrators were dealing with older water fountains that broke down periodically.
At first, the solution was to fit a bottle filler on an older water fountain. But that didn’t work out.
Instead, union administrators opted to replace the older, rundown fountains with newer ones.
The water fountains feature two nozzles: There’s one people can drink from and one specifically for filling a bottle of water.
The fountains are equipped with sensors, so those who are looking to fill up need only place their bottles and canisters under the nozzle.
The water also comes out faster, which makes things less awkward for people like Jason Chonin, who prefers to fill his water bottle fast and get out of people’s way.
“I don’t have to wait and hold people up,” Chonin said after filling up his empty 16.9-ounce Zephyrhills bottle.
“You don’t want to stay there and be a jerk,” he added, as another student walked up to the fountain and filled a gallon container.
Mironack said he thinks the fountains have been successful in encouraging sustainability.
“I think the numbers are pretty telling,” Mironack said. “I think one of the reasons they put the counter on there is to reinforce the idea that every time you use it, you’re essentially saving the use of a plastic bottle.”
A student refills her environmentally friendly water bottle in the Reitz Union.
