PathWater is a company that sells sustainable aluminum water bottles with the purpose to shift from single-use plastics to reusable materials. The company has a three-step plan that doubles as their company mission, which helps shift communities to a reuse culture, a culture more aware of environmentally-friendly steps to take in order to reduce waste outside of recycling. Their first step is to be impact driven through the positive impact communities can have on the planet; the second step is to eliminate single-use plastic bottled water; the third step is to activate a community-based revolution, inspiring people in communities who are fueled with PathWater’s same passion to end the use of plastic water bottles.
In just five short years, PathWater has rapidly gained momentum, getting NFL Champions Vernon Davis, Frank Gore, and Mohamed Sanu to join the refill revolution and having major brands like Adidas, Re/Done (a company that reconstructs Levi’s), Intuit, and Facebook replace their plastic water bottles with PathWater bottles. PathWater bottles are made of aluminum, the only material that offers 100% endless recyclability, as 75% of all aluminum ever produced is still actively in use today; aluminum also acts as an insulator, making it easy to infinitely reuse the bottle. Aluminum recyclables can be melted down to make new products, unlike some other “recyclable” materials like plastic, which is usually recycled once or twice before ending up in a landfill. PathWater water is locally sourced and filtered through reverse osmosis, creating an ideal balanced pH.
I talked to Clare Andriola, a senior and leader of the Plastic Reduction Committee in the Green Team, about the process of introducing PathWater to San Mateo High. The idea of replacing plastic water bottles with PathWater formed when “San Mateo’s Green Team found that we had a real problem with trash on campus, and not just in trash cans. The amount of plastic-wrapped and lack of truly recyclable material sold in our lunch program was a key focus for the Plastic Reduction Committee. Addressing the plastic water bottle issue seemed like an effective place to start, with the refillable water stations already on SMHS’s campus.” Regarding what the Plastic Reduction Committee has done so far, Clare stated that “much of our work with PathWater has been educational, like the Pop-Up Event on January 24th. Students seemed enthusiastic and very interested, especially those that learned a one-time purchase of a lunch beverage could serve as a reusable, personal bottle for life. The process has definitely been a learning experience, having to coordinate my own progress with PathWater faculty with school administration. I think the key factor is going to be convincing either The SMUHSD Board or our Nutritional Services program that it is a worthwhile and impactful investment.” The cost of introducing PathWater is currently not clear, but “at Los Altos High School, PathWater sells for roughly $1.20-$1.50.” The concerns with introducing PathWater “are mostly centered around budgets within the cafeteria program. Because of how expansive the free-and-reduced lunch program is here at SMHS, along with required markups of the state, it may not be the most feasible or realistic option for reducing waste on campus,” commented Clare.
Regardless, she believes that incorporating PathWater into the school is a step in the right direction in reducing San Mateo’s waste consumption.