Montclair State University’s Facilities department has launched an innovative "Fill it Forward" initiative aimed at significantly reducing single-use plastic bottle consumption. This program encourages students, faculty, and staff to embrace reusable water bottles by offering rewards and contributing to charitable causes with every refill.
Key Takeaways
- Encourages the use of reusable water bottles over single-use plastics.
- Partners with Fill it Forward to facilitate donations to charitable organizations with each bottle refill.
- Offers rewards and prize draws for participants.
- Tracks both individual and collective environmental impact.
How the Initiative Works
University Facilities has installed signs featuring QR codes at campus bottle filling stations. By downloading the "Fill it Forward" app from the App Store or Google Play and registering with a Montclair State University email address, participants can:
- Join the "Red Hawks Reuse" group to monitor the community’s environmental impact.
- Track their personal contributions to waste reduction.
- Support meaningful charitable projects.
- Automatically be entered into monthly prize drawings for each QR code scan.
For those who prefer not to use the app, scanning the QR code with a phone’s camera via an internet browser will still activate the donation to the charitable project, though it won’t include the app’s additional benefits.
Extending the Impact Beyond Campus
To further promote the initiative, free "Fill it Forward" QR code stickers are available at the Student Center Information Desk. These stickers can be affixed to personal water bottles, allowing for participation and donation tracking even when refilling off-campus.
A comprehensive list of bottle filler locations on campus is also available to help users easily find stations.
This program directly supports Goal 02-1 of the Facilities Sustainability Plan, which focuses on reducing waste generation. The initiative represents a significant step towards a more sustainable campus environment while simultaneously making a positive impact on global charitable efforts.
Sources
- Facilities Encourages You To Fill It Forward – University Facilities, Montclair State University.