SFO Bans Plastic Bottled Water but Approves New Compostable Drink Technology
San Francisco International Airport, August 20, 2019 — Today SFO banned the sale of plastic bottled water from its grounds. As concessions scramble for alternatives, one store has found an innovative solution, a machine manufactured by Drop Water which creates made-to-order drinks in 100% compostable bottles predominantly made of unlaminated paper.
SFO is the 7th largest airport by the number of travelers in the United States and up until today, it used to sell staggering amounts of plastic bottled water. You can now find Drop Water in terminal 2 at the Napa Farms Market.
About Drop Water:
Drop Water is a Menlo Park-based startup on a mission to shift the way the world consumes water. With an innovative robotic kiosk, they’re able to bottle custom drinks at the point-of-sale, in 100% compostable bottles. The company provides its technology platform as an alternative to the traditional consumer beverage distribution model which requires packaging with shelf-stability and lengthy distribution cycles.
Not only is Drop Water working to reduce plastic waste, but they’re also doing something sustainable behind the scenes — they’re not transporting water. Drop Water ships empty, collapsed bottles to their point-of-sale kiosks (which hold more than 1400 bottles) where they are filled and sealed once the drink is purchased. These kiosks don’t just make plain water either. Consumers can customize their drinks with a variety of options — from choosing a flavor to adding caffeine, even choosing the temperature. By bottling the drink at the point of sale Drop Water claims to reduce weight shipped by over 95%.
Executive Statement:
Scott Edwards, Founder and CEO, Drop Water
“We believe that reducing the requirements placed on packaging is necessary for making sustainable single-use products. Companies are stuck designing bottles to survive a distribution cycle and shelf life, limiting their material choices. We hope to be a catalyst for change in the bottled drink space by showing that it is possible to bottle drinks with materials that are made not to last.”
