The University of Economics, Prague decreasing its plastic bottle consumption

The University of Economics, Prague has decided to support students’ initiative and after Filtermac’s success at the Jarov dorms launched another filtered water vending machine directly on the university’s grounds. The University of Economics in Prague has therefore become the first university in the Czech Republic to offer an alternative option to packed water in both, its dorms and the school area itself.

Filtermac is designed to decrease the plastic bottles usage by providing cool, filtered water which the users can draw into their own bottles, completely free of charge. “It makes sense to assume that if you had the opportunity to tap off tasty water for free, you would buy packed water or other beverage in plastic bottle less often. We estimate the vending machine in the Old Building to save up to 20 or 30 thousand plastic bottles on monthly basis,” explains the university’s bursar, Tomáš Zouhar. “It is a pre-emptive measure as well since the fees for waste collection are expected to rise in the future,” adds Zouhar.

The University of Economics, Prague had tested the popularity of the water machine concept at the Jarov dorms where the Filtermac machine was installed last summer. Students and employees at the dorms get over 10 thousand liters of filtered water per month off the machine nowadays.

The unique feat of the Filtermac project is that it is mostly financed through the school’s benefactors’ contributions. For example, the new machine on the university grounds is administrated by KPMG and Johnson & Johnson companies. The University of Economics therefore doesn’t need to spend any financial resources for the device. “Dehydration causes, apart from other inconveniences, fatigue and memory and focus deterioration. Therefore, we recommend paying Filtermac a visit at least twice a day,” says Jana Samšuková, an HR Marketing Specialist of KPMG Czech Republic, with a smile on her face.
“The Filtermac project concept is very interesting for us since the very beginning. We see it as a great opportunity to help decrease the plastic consumption, as well as bring the Johnson & Johnson closer to the students as a potential employer. There are interesting job opportunities for higher grade students and even graduates lacking experience. However, the most important part of our cooperation with Filtermac is that it helps us fulfill one of our company’s missions – to protect the environment and natural resources,” stated the Johnson & Johnson’s Senior Talent Acquisition Partner Jan Stříhavka.

Filtermac filtering devices use tap water, which they convert into the highest quality water at the moment the user draws the water. All unwanted tastes and smells in the water are removed by carbon filters and the UV light eliminates all bacteria. The result is a high-quality delicious water which is fresh and doesn’t need to be delivered and stored needlessly. Other Bohemian and Moravian universities have also joined the “School without PET bottles” project. Overall, the Filtermac vending machine chain saves ca 180 thousand plastic bottles every day due to a huge demand of students and employees of the universities. The University of Economics, Prague has the potential to save up several hundreds of thousands of plastic bottles every year and contribute significantly to the environment.