UM-Flint collaborates with community to boost water bottle recycling

As work to address Flint’s water emergency is underway, the new issue emerges of what to do with the millions of used water bottles floating around in the community.

According to the state of Michigan’s Joint Information Center, nearly 395,000 cases of water bottles have been distributed to the community through official channels. At 24 to 30 bottles in a case, that is more than 9.5 million bottles out in the community and that number doesn’t take into account the bottles provided through other channels.

To help get those plastic bottles into recycling bins and avoid the landfill, students at the University of Michigan Flint – along with students from Kettering University, Mott Community College and Baker College – are organizing a community recycling challenge for the month of March.

“It is encouraging to see students from each campus engaging with one another to make a difference within the Flint community by promoting recycling and overall waste reduction,” says Brandon Eggleston, UM-Flint student and intern with Environmental, Health and Safety.

In addition, UM-Flint is encouraging the use of reusable water bottles on campus as all drinking fountains and water bottle refill stations have been equipped with lead-safe water filters.

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