Long Branch Installs Boardwalk Water Bottle Filling Station

LONG BRANCH, NJ — Long Branch took a step toward reducing plastic waste. The City introduced its first water bottle filling station, which promotes using reusable bottles.

The station is located on the boardwalk at the Laird Street Comfort station. The device is designed for outdoor use and provides filtered water. The Long Branch Green Team, an environmental volunteer group, developed the idea.

"Over the past few years the public has become more aware of the environmental damage plastic in general is causing to our environment, specifically to our oceans," Long Branch Green Team President Annette Benanti said in a statement. "As a result, many people have switched from purchasing plastic water bottles to utilizing reusable travel containers. However when they are outdoors they need a place to refill their reusable travel containers / water bottles, hence a water bottle filling station."

Plastic waste kills an estimated 100 million marine animals annually, the City said in its announcement. Of the 260 million tons of plastic the world produces each year, about 10% ends up in the ocean, according to a Greenpeace report the City cited.

"This is a positive and proactive effort to conserve the quality of our marine environment," said Richard Lee, a member of the Long Branch Environmental Commission and the Director of Surfers' Environmental Alliance. "Definitely a step in the right directly, I hope people who walk, jog, and run on the boardwalk use it to fill their reusable water bottles and stop using plastic bottles."

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