FLOW Seeks Public's Help In Mapping Local Water Bottle Filling Stations

FLOW (For Love Of Water) has launched a campaign to encourage residents to "get off the bottle" and reduce their usage of plastic water bottles. As part of the initiative, the nonprofit is asking users to download an app that maps local water refilling stations and fountains and to help provide input on locations around the Traverse City area where such amenities exist.

The app, called We Tap, can be downloaded for free from smart phone app stores. When users come across a water bottle filling station or fountain in the city, they are asked to add it to the map. Users can upload their photos to social media and tag @flow_for_water to help map locations around the city.

According to data provided by FLOW, 12.8 billion gallons of bottled water were sold in the U.S. in 2016 (the most recent date figures were tracked). Four billion pounds of plastic were used to make those bottles, with Americans drinking an average of 40 gallons of bottled water in a year. More than half of purchased plastic single-serve bottles are not recycled. Much of that plastic waste ends up in oceans; according to FLOW, "by 2050 there may be more pounds of plastic in oceans than fish."

For more information on FLOW's Get Off the Bottle campaign, click here.