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At Just Water we are on a mission to reduce and reuse plastic waste in every way possible. From sanitising and reusing water coolers and bottles to paper packaging, we are reducing our plastic footprint and enhancing our sustainability strategies significantly.

If you’ve ever wondered what happens to a Just Water cooler after it gets sent back from a customer at the end of a contract then read on, you may be surprised!

Reusable water coolers

One of the things we pride ourselves on is that, instead of sending returned coolers to landfill, we refurbish them to new condition and use them for the next customer.

When a cooler is returned it is first assessed on its age and condition. If the cooler is less than 10 years old and in good condition we will test it for 8 to 24 hours to ensure there are no leaks and that it’s keeping the water nice and cool.

Next it goes through the following steps:

• There’s an inspection to the panels, lids, taps, spillguards, drip trays and even bodies. If there’s any damage, they will be replaced with new parts.
• The cooler’s reservoir and water contact points and outside are then sanitised with Degresan, a top-level food grade sanitiser.
• After the sanitsation process, the cooler is blasted in a shower to remove any dust or grime that can be found in those hard-to-reach places like behind the condenser and the motor.
• Lastly, the unit is thoroughly dried, a new service card is added and then it is ready for the next customer to use.

This lengthy process ensures that a used water cooler is in as new condition for the next customer, preventing any unnecessary waste from going into the landfill.

When a cooler reaches the end of its lifecycle, we recycle as much of the cooler as possible.

Cooler units, bottle caps and shrink wrap is regularly collected for recycling and reused in either the manufacturing of slip-sheets, cable covers or dampcourse, or it is sold back into the NZ market for use in items that contain recycled content.

Water bottles are also reusable

Our bottles are another thing with a longer than normal life cycle. When collected from a customer they get taken back to the water plant and go through a thorough cleaning process so they too can be reused.

The bottles get a 360-degree physical inspection for any damage and an odor test is conducted to ensure there hasn’t been anything other than water inside.

After an external manual clean, the bottles are loaded from the conveyor belt into the bottle washing machine where they receive three types of different washes:

• The first is a caustic wash, a detergent wash applied with a high-pressure spray to ensure bottles are sparkling clean.
• The second is a santising wash which is also applied with a high-pressure spray.
• A final carbon filtered rinse is used to remove any particles.

Finally, the bottles get assessed through a UV light to kill off any remaining bacteria.

This way we can reuse the bottles safely multiple times, and therefore reduce single use plastic which is having a major impact on the environment.

At the end of their life cycle the bottles are collected and chipped or baled and exported, and then reground and compounded with other products to produce recycled pellets. They are then sold to the electrical industry.

More ways Just Water is environmentally friendly…

As you’ve seen, the water coolers and bottles go through a vigorous process to ensure the plastic can be reused rather than just ending up in landfill. But these are only two of the things that we do to operate more sustainably.

We also:

• Use biodegradable cups, that soon will be fully recyclable and plastic free (which is another thing that we are very excited about and will tell you more about soon! Watch this space!)
• Use cup sleeves that are made out of paper
• Regularly collect and recycle our cardboard and office paper
• Use biodegradable PLA material for our promotional material like Jellybean bags

If you are looking for sustainable ways to enhance your workplace or home, Just Water offers premium filtered water that has a low impact on the environment.

To view our products, click here or contact Just Water on 0800 801 802 to learn more about our services.