With the release of our annual Water Quality Report also comes the initiative “Bottle free in CMGC (Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center.)” The main idea of this is to reduce plastic waste from water bottles within the government center. How do we do this? It is through a multiple step process.

The first step was to show the confidence we had in our tap water. Many people drink from bottled water because they know it is clean and have confidence in it. We too have confidence in our tap water and the ability to provide it 24/7. Our water meets and exceeds the state and federal requirements, making us confident in what we serve you.

Next was the implementation of recyclable compostable drinking cups. These cups are made out of corn and are environmentally friendly. These cups are offered at every meeting to make sure that even those who forgot their reusable bottles can feel confident that they are not producing waste.

Tumblers were put at each council member’s seat in order to also provide them with the tools to drink bottle free. These tumblers are being given out in the Government Center as a way to not only have a resource to not use bottles, but as a way to remind people about the excellence we provide in our tap water.

With that, we also provided the government center with pitchers for meeting and events. These pitchers not only save waste, but are also a symbol during meetings of the initiative and the idea the Environmental Committee has that  “Charlotte will become a global leader in environmental sustainability, balancing economic growth, while preserving our natural resources.”

Last was the pledge from Environment Committee Chair, Councilwoman Kinsey. She pledged that the City Council would not use water bottles, and would use sustainable materials moving forward. When asked about why this was important to her she said, “It just makes sense to be using these renewable and sustainable products. If we don’t start using these products now, we are all going to be living on top of landfills.”

Not using water bottles can have a large impact on our landfills. At Charlotte Water our partnership with the Government Center is a step forward in creating a better Earth.  For every six water bottles, only one will be recycled. Those that do not end up being recycled can take hundreds of years to disintegrate in landfills. These two facts alone have convinced us to be bottle free. Will you take the pledge with us?