1. Case Study
Manly Council Reducing Plastic Waste
The filtered Water Sustainability Initiative
Manly Council situated on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and bounded
by ocean beach and Sydney Harbour incorporates the suburbs of
Manly, Balgowlah, Balgowlah Heights, Clontarf, Fairlight and Seaforth.
In an effort to combat climate change and decrease the impact of
plastic waste on the environment, Manly Council set out to reduce the
consumption of bottled water and its associated waste in the local
community.
Former Mayor of Manly - Dr Peter Macdonald stated: “From the point
of production to their ultimate disposal, water bottles have a signifi-
cantly negative impact on our environment.
“The production, transportation, refrigeration and disposal of water
bottles is a massive waste of our natural resources and leads to ex-
cessive greenhouse gas emissions; not to mention the obvious pollu-
tion they create in our local environment.”
Research done by Manly Council found that 75% of containers in the
waste stream were water bottles. Not only is their waste an issue,
according to the Department of Environment and Climate Change,
each litre bottle of water takes 200mL of oil to produce, package,
transport and refrigerate. As a result, at least 50 million litres of oil is
used in the manufacture and distribution of bottled water in Australia
every year.
To launch the initiative 6 units were installed consisting of a separate
bottle filler and water bubbler. The problem was it cost $9,330 to pur-
chase and install each unit. In an effort to reduce the costs Manly
Council approached Arrow Alpha with a request to retrofit taps onto
the existing signage. As a result the aquafil™ brand was born and
today delivers free fresh filtered drinking water to the local community.
The Filtered Water Refill Stations were a practical and deliverable solu-
tion that the council could easily implement.
With an existing network of water supply pipes and drinking fountains,
incorporating the Filtered Water Refill Stations was a simple way the
Council could demonstrate their commitment to the community and
environment.
By the end of 2010, 12 aquafil units had been installed bringing the
total number of operational water refill stations and drinking fountains
to 18 in the Manly local government area.
The aquafil™ units have the ability to display graphics and promote an
important message with each of the units displaying the message
“Combat Climate Change. Avoid Waste & Pollution. Reuse Resources.
Reduce Carbon Emissions.”
On average the units use 5,500 litres of water per month which over a
year is almost enough to fill 2 million 600ml bottles which equates to 80
tonnes of plastic waste that is potentially avoided.
Manly Council were the first council to provide filtered water refill sta-
tions to the public and have been proactive in creating a better environ-
ment today for a more sustainable tomorrow.
Challenge: Finding a cost effective solution to reduce the
number of plastic bottles being purchased and disposed of in
Manly’s local government area .
Solution: Design and Install units that incorporate both a water
bottle refill station and bubbler in one throughout the Manly
Community
Result: The creation of the aquafil™ water refill station and drinking
fountain and the installation of 12 units in the Manly Community.
PO Box 6346 SILVERWATER NSW 1811 8-10 Giffard St SILVERWATER NSW 2128 T: 1300 600 300
www.arrowalpha.com.au www.aquafil.com.au
About Arrow Alpha
Established in 1990, after recognising the importance of sustainable forms of transport,
Arrow Alpha began by designing and manufacturing high quality, cost efficient, long
lasting public transport information products and systems.
Arrow Alpha’s team are thinkers, designers, problem solvers and inventors, always on
the lookout for opportunities to create and manufacture innovative products for a sus-
tainable tomorrow.
Arrow Alpha’s product designs and manufacturing process reflect our passion for the
environment. Every step in the manufacturing process is as clean, green and sustaina-
ble as possible keeping our environmental impact to an absolute minimum.
By focusing on improving the eco-efficiency of our manufacturing systems to reduce
energy, water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, production costs are also
reduced, resulting in a WIN-WIN solution for YOU our client and the ENVIRONMENT.