An Overview Of Our Solution
Our mission is to provide indoor and outdoor mobile water infrastructures for large gatherings and/or events to protect our planet from single-use plastics such as water bottles and sanitizer bottles and gloves. Specifically, our long-term goal is to provide innovative non-contact water dispensers around the world, thus avoiding as much as possible the use of single-use plastics in locations where people need access to water for drinking or handwashing, in order to save our planet from extreme pollution. Our bottle fill stations were successfully tried and tested amongst 140,000 people in 4 days and adapted during the covid-19 pandemic to become entirely touchless and also include a multi-user touchless handwashing unit.
- Population Impacted: 150,000
- Continent: North America
Primeiro nome
Sobrenome
Tipo de organização
Análise de contexto
Globally, countries are announcing bans on the use of single-use plastic items due to the global crisis of plastic pollution harming our waterways and quality of life. This pushes people to seek new alternatives to continue to serve. Water refill stations are becoming a more accepted solution as an alternative to selling single-use plastic water bottles. Examples are shown in the music industry such as Glastonbury UK Festival, Live Nation, etc. As for the global pandemic and the changes in our society in 2020, there is a ever increasing need to now also tend to sanitary needs while keeping waste generation at a low rate. The amount of waste generated by the pandemic has increased 500% in the last year, such that it is more important than ever to have both sustainable and sanitary infrastructures to provide people with access to water for essential human needs.
Descreva a solução técnica que você queria que o público-alvo adotasse
Our water stations consist of a 6-tap (sink or faucet) hexagonal structure, made entirely of stainless steel. The taps have a 360 degree access, and are separated by polycarbonate separation panels to maintain a safe distance between each person. The water dispensing mechanism is entirely touchless and operated by batteries. Both the bottle fill and hand wash station include an internal water meter to track near real-time usage to the precision of a Litre. The stations require a municipal water supply for both incoming water (potable for drinking) and a grey water disposal outgoing connection. Stations can be both fixed to the ground for longer-term use, or weighted down with weights for a temporary set-up. Units can be disassembled and stored when not in use on a standard 48 inch pallet. No electrical required. Can be installed indoors or outdoors (in above freezing climates). Our stations can also be entirely customized and branded to promote environmental messaging.
Descreva sua intervenção comportamental.
We have designed a water station that is quick and easy to use, making it readily accessible and visible in large public spaces. Our first versions in 2019 were launched at one of the city's largest music festivals called Osheaga Music Festival. Our 3 prototypes were used by 65% of the total audience of 136,000 people in just 3 days. We refilled over 85,000 single-use bottles. The water dispensing was entirely free, since our customers required drinking water access as a health and safety requirement for the event. See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7o6EOecF34
The new Covid-19 adapted stations for both drinking water and handwashing were used this Fall during a movie production set since most large gatherings have been banned during the pandemic. Users were happy to see readily available places to refill their bottle during their lunch break, and also have the option to wash their hands since over 60% of users (total 250 persons) preferred to wash their hands with soap and water vs. the hand sanitizer using the chemical disinfectants.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y00nP41rpOM&t=1s
Alavancas Comportamentais Utilizadas
Conforme necessário, explique como você utilizou a(s) alavanca(s) com mais detalhes.
Pride, Hope & Amusement and Surprise - where both our customers and the station users feel positive about their actions of refilling, and not harming the planet with single-use bottles. Our visible, and artistic trash artwork attracts users too.
Social influences - by partnering in 2019 with #BYOBOTTLE and #HydrateLike partners, asking station users to take a picture using the station and hashtag to be part of this greater movement.
Now - in the case of the pandemic, we evoke a sense of safety vs the fear of the unknown forced regulations, choosing the more natural option vs. a chemical gel solution that often is dispensed in a small plastic jug or bag. Our bottle station is also touchless - making it safe to refill your bottle still despite the newly constructed fear regarding public infrastructures.
Finally, we leverage rules & regulations as it is now protocol, at least in Canada to follow sanitary measures and wash your hands in public.
Descreva sua implementação
To help solve the issue of reducing waste generated when accessing or using water in order to keep our waterways clean-free of pollution, we provide water stations for drinking water needs and handwashing needs. We tried and tested our water bottle refill solution pre-pandemic at a large festival, showing that our units were widely accepted, used, and beneficial to reduce waste generated by the event, while also providing a essential human need. We have a successful track record of impact and media attention surrounding our solution with over 8 media mentions in traditional press & media. By working with one of the city's largest festival organizers, Evenko, we also had one of the events largest sponsors (National Bank of Canada) customize the stations to promote their environmental. sustainability efforts. We overcame the challenge of being a startup and needing to back the production costs of the first prototypes - by raising $28,000 (114% of our crowdfunding goal).
Given the change in society, the 2020 pandemic forced a full stop on our solution, so we had to pivot quickly in March and remain relevant, redesigning the water stations to become entirely touchless, maintain safe social distancing between taps, and also provide another important feature - handwashing, while ensuring we maintain our mission to continue to reduce waste generated from single-use plastics to protect our waterways. Our R&D was completed in the summer and we piloted and tested our two newest stations O'land Fill & Wash Stations with the city's conference center at the only permitted large gathering (move production set) approved as an essential business activity during the covid lockdown.
Descreva a liderança para sua solução. Quem está liderando a implementação?
tThe Chief Executive Officer is the sole Founder, Rachel Labbe-Bellas who has a background in the industry of plastic pollution, fundraising and environmental science and outreach as well as a Master of Science in Ecology. Rachel conceptualized The Green Stop, now known as O’land Stations, back in 2016 in California and founded the company in March 2019 during her 5-month intensive pre-seed entrepreneurial program with the Founder Institute back in Canada.
She has won numerous awards and prizes since the company’s inception. Her multiple awards range from social innovation contests and startup pitches such as 2019 Aquahacking Challenge For the Great Lakes & St-Lawrence River, Jeune Chambre de Commerce de Montréal Green and Social Economy Pitch, Quartier d’Innovation Environment Pitch at Expo Entrepreneurs 2020 to the most recently the 2020 Canadian Innovators and Entrepreneurs Quebec Social Innovation Award and Top 100 Female with Femmessor & RBC Bank making a positive impact.
Compartilhe alguns dos principais parceiros ou partes interessadas envolvidos no desenvolvimento e implementação de sua solução.
Key Clients: Evenko, Palais des Congres de Montreal, City of Trois Rivières (Quebec), Toronto Cider Festival, Piknik Electronic
Key R&D partners- CollectivLab - Design & Engineering partners
Key Financing Support- Canada Government (Internship subsidies ECO Canada & Canada Summer Jobs) Ministry of Economy and Innovation (MEI - Quebec), PME Montreal, Futurpreneur Canada
Affiliated with the following startup incubator programs (Esplanade, Founder Institute, Aquahacking, CommonVC, MTLab)
Affiliated business partner and vendor: #BYOBottle business vendor, CQEER (Eco responsible Events Business Vendor in Quebec), Member of Tourisme Montreal (Local Tourism Promotional)
Quem adotou o(s) comportamento(s) desejado(s) e em que grau? Inclua uma explicação de como você mediu uma mudança de comportamen
Our first client testing in 2019 catered to festival goers of Osheaga Music Festival. We measured change in behavior based on the number of refills that occurred at our water stations with our internal water meters. We determined 85,000 refills, so we can assume that if everyone refilled their bottle 1x, that, 85,000 out of 136,000 event attendees used our stations to drink water rather than buy a water bottle instead. With this estimate, we also determined a waste savings based on the estimated volume of trash and or recycling that was saved. Thus, the client (event organizer) contributed to reducing waste generated by their event by approximately 566 standard trash bags. We produced a green report and shared it with event organizer for their corporate sustainability report. In 2020, our second station prototypes were set up at the Montreal Palais des Congres (Conference Center) and used by 250 people. We reduced waste from 240 plastic water bottles and washed 500 hands.
Como você impactou a poluição da água? Por favor, seja específico e inclua a metodologia de medição quando relevante.
We impact water pollution by reducing the waste generated from single-use plastics which often ends up returning to our waterways or breaking down in landfills and leaching contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) into our soils. Plastic pollution is a global crisis and recycling systems intended to capture this waste are merely effective at all (globally 9%, in Canada 26%). Beverage bottles are one of the top items found as discarded waste in environments such as coastal environments, cities,etc. We use our internal water meters to estimate the number of bottle refills (using an 500ml as standard size single-use bottle) and also the number of hands washed (using the volume of water used during a 20second scrub) which would have otherwise been sanitized using gel and alcohol bottles. We then provide the client (event host or organizer) with a green report to share this impact data.
Como sua solução impactou os desafios de equidade (incluindo raça, gênero, etnia, classe social/renda ou outros)?
Our solution has not specifically targeted any equity challenges, but our water stations are free and accessible to any public individual who wishes to use it. The water bottle refill station dispenses standard potable water from a municipal or building. No electricity is required for hook-up, making it easily installable in most places with a water connection.
Quais foram alguns co-benefícios ambientais?
Waste reduction from single-use plastic items. Alternative to hand sanitizer gel bottles and packaging. No electrical requirements. Safe access for drinking water and hand washing.
Quais foram alguns co-benefícios do desenvolvimento sustentável?
Promotion of the use of safe tap water for drinking, creation of resilient cities and communities, solution for safe sanitary practices (touchless dispensing and no chemicals or harmful products required). Infrastructures are reusable, and refill is continuous, i.e. connected to municipal water with no reserve tank to refill, station has a depreciation of minimum 5 years, built of stainless steel, minimal maintenance required once installed.
Sustentabilidade: Descreva a sustentabilidade econômica de sua solução.
Stations were first built with support of local crowdfunding, and in 2020 with government grants (federal and provincial) and prize money from startup challenges such as the winner of AquaHacking Great Lakes pitch competition. The solution is now relying on a combination of market-based revenue from both local rental and sell models. Prior to the pandemic, we had an expected revenue for the summer rental season in 2020 of 34,000 from just 6 major rental events. Given the pandemic, we have pivoted to offer local rentals and sales of these units.
Retorno do investimento: quanto custou para implementar essas atividades? Como seus resultados acima se comparam a esse investim
The R&D of the first 3 units and prototype validation cost $25,000 with initial market revenue of $10,000 for their rental. The R&D For the new and improved stations in 2020, cost $40,000. We are now taking orders for the production and or rental of the next units of O’land Fill and Wash Stations.
Como poderíamos replicar com sucesso essa solução em outro lugar?
We need funding to build enough stations to offer for local rental as the covid-19 pandemic continues and has put many businesses in uncertainty and less willing to make large investments for equipment if their own existence is at risk. With $100,000 we can build between 8-10 water stations and hire 1 full-time employee to run the operation for our interested clients, such as schools, airports, parks, large retail and companies such as shopping malls and event venues). With $500,000 we could build 50 units to sell outside the local rental market.
In order to reach US markets faster, we could benefit from securing a manufacturing partner on the west coast to avoid import fees and high shipping costs.