Georgian College’s commitment to environmental sustainability has been underscored by the recent installation of a hydration station at the Barrie Campus as a pilot project.

The water-dispensing device is a unique system/filling station for re-usable bottles. The College is the first facility in Canada to have a working unit.

The hydration station processes tap water into pure water using state-of-the-art filtration technologies, which can be substituted whenever a specification calls for a drinking fountain. Before water reaches the nozzle, it runs through an NSF-certified filter to remove sediment, chlorine taste and odour.

The hydration station fulfils the College’s environmental sustainable directive, says Dianne Corrigan, Environmental Sustainability Co-ordinator.

“Georgian’s Physical Resources department and the Environmental Sustainability Committee are continually looking for ways to embed environmental sustainability into the College’s day-to-day operations,” she said. “The hydration station is the perfect answer to our mandate, which includes finding ways to diminish our environmental impact and incorporate ‘green’ living into corporate culture.”

The hydration station was acquired by Physical Resources in response to a request to reduce the use of plastic bottles on campus. The unit is located on the third floor of the C Building at the Barrie Campus across from Room C315. There is a potential for more than 30 units College-wide when fully implemented.

For more information on environmental sustainability initiatives at Georgian College, visit http://www.georgianc.on.ca/environment/.