FALMOUTH — The Falmouth Land Trust is working with Falmouth Elementary School to provide water bottle refilling stations for students, with the goal of reducing the proliferation of single-use plastic bottles.

To help pay for the water stations, the land trust is offering special water bottles with the organization’s logo on one side and the elementary school logo on the other.

Each bottle is $15 and orders will be taken through April 28.

The land trust has already donated one of the school’s two water-filling stations; all proceeds from the current fundraiser will go toward a third station, the trust said.

In addition to providing clean, cold water, the land trust said the water refilling stations also raise awareness about plastics, pollution and the importance of a clean and healthy environment.

“We believe each person can build habits that promote conservation,” the trust said in a Facebook post promoting the water bottle sale.

On its website, the land trust says plastic is the No. 1 ocean pollutant and the No. 1 contributor to landfills. And, the trust said, 17 million barrels of oil are used to make the single-use water bottles used by Americans every year.

Approximately 50 million water bottles are purchased in the U.S. each year, the trust said, and only about one-fifth of those get recycled. In addition, Americans also buy enough bottled water to nearly circle the earth each day.

Along with the water bottle fundraiser, the land trust is also holding several contests designed to help promote a reduction in the use of plastics.

One of the contests asks residents to send a photo of themselves sporting a water bottle while using a land trust trail or visiting a trust property. The winner of the photo contest will receive a $20 gift card to Skillins Greenhouses and the photo will also be featured on the land trust’s website.

The second contest asks residents to design a poster to be displayed at the elementary school, which shows various ways to reduce the use of plastics in everyday life. The winner of this contest will receive a $20 gift card to Ricetta’s Italian restaurant.

The third contest asks residents to write a poem about conservation. The winner of the poetry contest will receive a $20 gift card to Book Review, as well as having their poem posted on the land trust’s website.

All submissions should be emailed to info@falmouthlandtrust.org by April 28.

Kate Irish Collins can be reached at 710-2336 or kcollins@theforecaster.net. Follow Kate on Twitter: @KirishCollins.

Edited April 19, 2017, to clarify that the land trust did not donate both of the existing filling stations.

 

The Falmouth Land Trust is selling reusable water bottles with its logo on one side and the Falmouth Elementary School logo on the other. Proceeds will go toward purchasing a third water refilling station for the school.