Phoenix Water Coolers - Environmental & Green Issues

Water is essential to life!

We cannot live without it and nowadays it is recognised that many of us need to drink more of it to maintain a healthy body. Furthermore, it's proven that people who drink water throughout the day are more alert and productive.

Workplaces are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of employees drinking more water and are providing water in the workplace. Traditionally this has been done with the bottled water cooler, but with greater awareness of the carbon footprint and H&S legislation, then there is a better way...............the mains fed or point of use (POU) water cooler.

Consider the carbon footprint of a bottle of water and the amount of energy used to:

~ Manufacture the bottle.
~ Transport the bottle to where it will be filled.
~ Fill the bottle.
~ Transport the filled bottle to the distribution centre.
~ Transport the filled bottled from there to the customer or workplace.
~ Collect the empty bottle from the workplace.
~ Clean & refill the bottle.
~ Dispose of the bottle at the end of its lifespan (very costly due to the makeup of the bottle). Remember, it`s just not the bottle you have to recycle, the plastic cap also requires to be recycled. This is usually made up of 3 different plastic components, and then glue is used to join it, these items all have to be separated before 100% recycling can commence.

None of this applies to a mains fed water cooler!

At Phoenix, we go the extra mile.....

We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint - that's why we run our vehicles on LPG gas or Bio diesel so our carbon footprint is kept to a minimum!

	Main fed water coolers are the future!
	Look what others are saying! ......from the Evening Standard 7th December 2007:

Although coolers have become a traditional place for office workers to exchange the latest gossip, a London council has deemed them - and bottled water - environmentally unfriendly and is insisting that staff switch to the tap variety instead. Islington council believes it will save more than £8,000 a year on bottled water and thousands more on coolers after it agreed to stop paying for them. The council, which says the move will reduce its carbon footprint, is now calling on the Greater London Authority and other London boroughs to follow suit. The ban was approved this week after being proposed by Liberal Democrat council leader James Kempton.

He said: "What sense does it make to have water shipped around the world to use in bottles when we can just turn on the tap?

"London's tap water is good, so to me bottled water is a mystery. It's also a matter of the environmental damage caused by the transportation of bottled water, not to mention the production and disposal of the bottles. "I'm proud that Islington is the greenest place in London and I'm calling on other councils and the Mayor to ensure that bottled water is not used in public buildings in the city." Water coolers have been criticised for the energy required to run them and the delivery of refills by road. Mr Kempton hopes that restaurants and businesses will consider providing only tap water for diners and staff.

Westminster council also plans to get rid of water coolers by replacing them with chilled tap water at its Victoria headquarters within the next year. Camden council is replacing water cooler in all its buildings with mains water filters.

A Kensington and Chelsea spokesman said: "The council has provided mains drinking water facilities for nearly all staff for many years. Only the water dispensed is cooled and the plastic cups provided are fully recyclable." Jenny Bates of Friends of the Earth welcomed the moves, saying: "Transporting bottled water across the world increases carbon emissions and is also a staggering waste of resources."