Rethinking our Drinking — Bottled Water is OUT at Hope Academy

Actors, singers, dancers and musicians need to stay hydrated when they are working, especially now, when it’s getting hotter and most of our classrooms and rehearsal spaces are not air-conditioned.  We have been buying bottled water to have on hand for dancers and long rehearsals, but after one of our students pointed out how eco-unfriendly this is we have decided to go a bit greener with a self-imposed ban on purchasing bottled water.  Students may bring their own bottled water, if they would like, but hopefully after reading on and watching the video below you will be convinced to bring a reusable water bottle that can be refilled at the water fountains or with the iced tap water that we will provide.

The facts about bottled water

Americans spent $15 billion last year on bottled water, which can cost up to 1000 times more than tap water. Despite the ads and marketing, bottled water is not any cleaner, tastier or healthier than tap water. Each year, 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to make 50 billion disposable drinking bottles, requiring an estimated 47 million gallons of oil — and that doesn’t include the energy costs of shipping the bottled water to the stores where you buy them. Ultimately, one liter of bottled water requires 2,000 times more energy to produce than one liter of tap water. At the end of their life cycle, less than 20 percent of plastic bottles are recycled which means that 38 billion plastic water bottles end up in U.S. landfills each year — 100 million every day! — and they can sit there for up to a thousand years. 

What we can do:

Everything we consume has a climate impact, but manufacturing and trucking water bottles to homes (or churches) with clean tap water seems particularly wasteful. Instead, you can carry a reusable bottle and fill it with tap water. You’ll not only save money but will reduce the use of the non-renewable resources required to make plastic bottles — and keep them out of landfills.

Next week, during our showcase performances at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, we will be selling our new reusable BPA-free Hope Academy water bottles (photo left) for $3 each. Choose from blue, green or pink and we will fill it for you with delicious iced tap water.  Refills are free! Watch the video below and if you aren’t convinced that buying bottled water is not only unnecessary but uncool as well, let us know. Together, we can make a small change and lots of small changes can add up to something BIG. Spread the word!