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People online have shared many absurd things their bosses have said and done.
However, this one not only might be absurd but illegal as well.
A few days ago, netizen u/radiantxflowersharedhow their management issued a new policy for its warehouse workers.
Citing sustainability issues, the company claimed they would no longer give its employees free bottled water.
OSHA standards demand that employers have available potable water to their employees.
Potable water includes tap water that is safe for drinking, their website claims.
Employers cannot require employees to pay for water that is provided.
An employer does not have to provide bottled water if potable water is available.
The watercan also comefrom a drinking fountain, a covered container, or a single-use plastic bottle.
Water from a sink in the bathroom isnt up to OSHAs standards.
The water outlet has to be specifically intended for drinking water only.
Tap water usually is fine, but that depends on local water quality.
Tap water isnt safe to drink everywhere in the U.S.
While the OP interprets that as unsustainable for the company, it is unsustainable in the ecological sense.
In 2023, Americansconsumed15.94 billion gallons of bottled water.
CNNreportsthat experts predict bottled water sales to almost double by 2030.
That means double the amount of plastic in our landfills and oceans from bottled water alone.
But you might say: Water bottles are totally recyclable!
Thats true to some degree.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that 29.1% of PET bottles were recycled in 2018.
Thats not to say that you should stop recycling your water bottles.
While they dont all get recycled, they are down-cycled.
That means that they become a lower-quality kind of plastic packaging.
Its good to some degree, but the fact is that we cant recycle it forever.
As Dr. Trevor Zink and Dr. Roland Geyerwrite, the belief that recycling diverts plastic from landfills is false.
Thats why a water fountain would probably be the most planet-friendly choice for any workplace.
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