HPA student, nonprofit work to reduce single-use plastic bottles

WAIMEA — On Friday, Keahole Center for Sustainability is installing two new water refill stations at Waimea Middle Public Conversion Charter School and one at Waimea Elementary School through a grassroots effort spearheaded by a local high school student.

“I want to reduce single-use plastic water bottle usage and disposal while increasing the quality of health for all local keiki on our island,” Nikki Montenegro, junior project manager at KCS and a student at Hawaii Preparatory Academy, said in a press release. “And this water refill unit is just one of many to be donated and locally installed this year.”

To date, the project has installed FloWater filtered refill units at Hawaii Preparatory Academy and Holualoa Elementary School with more unit installations on the drawing board for West Hawaii schools this fall. The effort has been lauded by Gov. David Ige and was recognized this summer by the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce with a Pualu Award for Business Innovation. KCS, a local nonprofit, oversees and facilitates this new initiative to donate water refill stations to every school in Hawaii.

Dubbed the Water Refill Community Sustainability Action Program, the project was recently started and inspired through a KCS mentorship with Montenegro. The student was saddened to see plastic on local beaches and when diving the shoreline. KCS Executive Director Candee Ellsworth worked with the student to observe how plastic was used here in the community, identify the problem and possible reasons for it, and brainstorm solutions. Over the span of several months, Ellsworth helped the teen narrow her focus to reducing single-use plastic water bottle usage.

“If every student in Hawaii schools were to bring one plastic bottle of water daily for the 173 days of a typical school year, it would generate 5.19 million plastic water bottles going to our local landfills,” Montenegro said. “Single-serve plastic water use is where we can quickly make a huge local impact, not only for reducing plastic waste, but also for improving the health of residents.”

Funding of the project has been through private sources and grants. Those wishing to donate can do so through the KCS website under “Sustainability Action” at http://kcshi.org. School administrators and parent/teacher organizations interested in obtaining a FloWater unit for their schools can contact Ellsworth at kcs@kcshi.org. KCS is located at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority in Kailua-Kona.