Van Buren Township giving away free, refillable water bottles

Van Buren Township’s Water & Sewer Department “Tap the Tap: Rethink Your Drink” program is celebrating healthy and delicious tap water by giving away 32-ounce Nalgene refillable water bottles to residents.
“Municipal tap water is constantly tested to maintain safety and quality standards,” said Water & Sewer Director James T. Taylor. “With all these standards in place, many residents have stated Van Buren Townships tap water tastes great and smells odorless.”
Van Buren Township’s tap water is routinely tested and an annual water-quality report is sent to residents during the summer months in the Van Buren Today magazine. If standards don’t catch your attention, let’s take a look at the environmental impact bottled water has on our planet, he said.
More than 60 million plastic bottles end up in landfills and incinerators every day, with a total of about 22 billion a year. In an effort to reduce water bottle waste the township is asking residents to “Tap the Tap: Rethink Your Drink” and help protect the earth. Despite the predominant belief that most of the plastic packaging can be recycled, the fact of the matter is that 80% of the packaging cannot be recycled.
To jump start the “Tap the Tap: Rethink Your Drink” program the Water & Sewer Department has installed two water bottle filling stations in township hall. One is located in the west wing between the Supervisor’s and Treasurer’s office and the other is outside the Recreation Multipurpose room in the Parks and Rec Department. These stations have a Green Ticker which tracks the number of plastic bottles saved from waste stations.
“We invite you all to stop by township hall to fill up your water bottles in the new fountains,” said Public Services Director Matt Best.
With the “Tap the Tap: Rethink Your Drink” program residents can receive a free, 32-ounce refillable water bottle by taking a one-minute survey about the township’s water supply. Once completed they can pick up their free water bottle, first-come first-served, at township hall from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is a limited supply of refillable bottles. Take the survey at vanburen-mi.org/tapthetap .
Questions about the “Tap the Tap: Rethink Your Drink” program can be answered at (734) 699-8925 or by email at [email protected] .
News release