Plastic is an essential part of our everyday lives. It has helped us to advance and develop new technologies, manufacture transportation and create tools to increase the efficiency of medications. But while it has many benefits, it also has severe environmental implications.

One of the biggest threats to our planet, single-use plastics take up to 1,000 years to decompose, polluting our oceans and filling landfills. Over 700 species – such as seabirds and sea turtles – are at threat of extinction due to our destructive plastic addition.

If each person, school and business worked on reducing their plastic usage, the detrimental impact could be reduced. But we need to act now.

As part of a nationwide effort to combat plastic pollution, schools are being urged to eliminate single-use plastic by 2022, instead using sustainable alternatives for plastic bottles, straws and food packaging.

At Zip Water, we want to help you meet the daily needs of pupils while reducing the overall environmental impact. Creator of the world’s most advanced drinking water systems, our sustainable, mains-fed filtered drinking water solutions are ideal for schools and other educational facilities that want to curb their plastic usage while becoming more energy efficient.

The delivery of great-tasting water on tap not only encourages users to drink more but discourages them from buying unsustainable single-use plastic water bottles, protecting the planet.

Education can change the world

If there’s anything we’ve learnt from the past year, it’s that schoolchildren care about reducing their plastic usage and improving the environment. School strikes led by Greta Thunberg saw an estimated seven million children and young people demanding government action on climate change.

They want to grow up in a world that’s doing everything it can to protect their future, with many children developing eco-anxiety from fears we’re not acting quickly enough.

As an independent school, you have the unique opportunity to increase your students’ knowledge and understanding to protect the environment for the future. By rethinking your curriculum, sustainability goals and facilities, pupils can build upon their environmental awareness, not only having a positive impact on the whole school community, but also on general feelings of wellbeing.

As an independent school, you have the unique opportunity to increase your students’ knowledge and understanding to protect the environment for the future

Act now

Teaching students about the environment is of paramount importance – and implementing sustainable policies in your school is even more so. By offering pupils a chance to be environmentally responsible at school, you can empower them, giving them the confidence to implement sustainable practices in the wider environment.

An easy way to start is by getting pupils involved in a discussion about single-use plastics. Find out what they think the best way to start removing them from your school is and help them propose strategies to get there. Make it easy for pupils to be more sustainable – if there are enough mains-fed filtered drinking water dispensers around the building they will choose to refill a bottle rather than purchase a plastic alternative, for example.

With a range of products tailored for the education sector, here at Zip Water we have something for all requirements, with floor-standing, countertop and under-counter dispensers to choose from.

When it comes to ensuring safety, our HydroTap range has it covered. Featuring world-leading filtration – 25 times better than a standard water filter jug – our systems remove not only dirt, microplastics and other contaminants from the water that other systems may not remove, but also up to 97% of chlorine and 99.9% of microbiological cysts, if present.

What’s more, selected models in our HydroChill range feature UV Out sterilisation to destroy 99.99% of toxic microbes, helping to prevent the growth of bacteria at the dispensing point where water bottles come into contact with the tap.

Spend your remaining budget on making a difference. At Zip, we can tailor solutions to suit all requirements, helping you to go plastic water bottle-free.

Call 01362 852 247 or visit specify.zipwater.co.uk/education to discuss your competitive and bespoke package before 31 March 2020.