‘Fill it Forward’ Program Reduces Waste, Aids Global Water Projects

ALBANY, N.Y. (Aug. 12, 2021) — More than 70 million plastic bottles are used in the United States every day and most end up in landfills or, worse, littering the land and sea. So using a refillable water bottle is a good choice for the planet — and your wallet.

And with UAlbany’s participation in the Fill it Forward program, you also can support global clean water initiatives every time you refill your bottle.

The program is simple: Get a tagged water bottle or pick up a tag to put on your own water bottle, and upload an app that tracks the water you drink. Every time you refill your bottle, Fill it Forward donates to a water project.

“The beauty of the app is that we can see how the UAlbany community is doing as a collective with contributing to specific water projects around the globe,” said Martha Asselin, director of UAlbany’s Center for Leadership and Service. “We are monitoring the social impact we are making in the world around us. Simply by drinking water and utilizing the Fill It Forward app, we are becoming agents of social change. It is a beautiful cycle.”

The Center for Leadership and Service is partnering with the Provost’s Office and the Office of Sustainability on the project, and is taking the lead on distributing tags and water bottles, which are made of recycled materials. You also can request a tag through this link, or by emailing [email protected].

“We were drawn to this program through the dual objectives of reducing single-use plastic waste and improving access to clean water,” said Mary Ellen Mallia, UAlbany’s director of sustainability. “Partnering with Fill it Forward, a B corporation, allows us to accomplish this and track the individual and collective impacts of our efforts.”

A certified “B Corporation” is a for-profit company that meets specific standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, legal accountability and working conditions, among others. Fill it Forward works to reduce waste by promoting reusable products and donating to charitable projects for each reuse.

As of earlier this week, UAlbany had 170 users with a total of 4,464 reuses. That adds up to 134 pounds of waste diverted and 2,544 kwh of energy saved, Mallia said.

In addition, UAlbany users are currently supporting a forest and water restoration project in the Andes. Other projects Fill it Forward has funded include a school-based water tap system in Bangladesh and youth education and training programs in Canada.

The water bottles the Center for Leadership is distributing also serve to promote EngageUAlbany, which offers a host of ways members of the campus community can volunteer in the region. “The EngageUAlbany platform permits volunteers to record their service hours and to stay actively engaged as agents of social change,” Asselin said.