Faculty and staff can and should take advantage of the new water bottle refill stations that have been installed all over campus. New BPA-free “Switch Your Thinking” bottles will be available for faculty and staff at UT’s Fall Festival on Friday.
The bottles will be available while supplies last. The fun kicks off at 11:30 a.m., Friday, September 30, at the TRECS complex. The event ends at 3:00 p.m.
The bottles are the campus’s way to say thank you to UT employees for conserving energy and resources. Eight new water refill stations have been added over the past year. Located at the Student Swim Facility, TRECS, Hodges Library and the University Center, the stations provide a convenient way for students, staff, and faculty to refill their water bottles and promote sustainable behavior. The stations were purchased and installed with funds from the Student Environmental Initiatives Fee, part of the Facilities Fee paid by students.
“Adopting a reusable water bottle in place of buying bottled water saves money and protects the environment. Americans buy 28 billion single-use plastic bottles of water per year. The oil used to produce these plastic bottles could fuel 100,000 cars for a year,” explains UT Sustainability Coordinator Gordie Bennett.
For more information on UT campus sustainability initiatives, including how funds from the Student Environmental Initiatives Fee are spent, visit http://environment.utk.edu/fees.html.