Toronto inventor aims to reduce plastic water bottle waste

Toronto entrepreneur Emily Wilkinson has a vision she says she hopes will reduce plastic waste.

Wilkinson is the inventor behind the botlfilter, a new portable water filter system that she says is convenient to carry and helps reduce a water drinker’s personal carbon footprint.

“Canadians dispose of millions of water bottles a year,” she said. “That’s a lot of plastic and not all of it is being recycled. In fact, most is shipped out and thrown in landfills.

“I was looking for an alternative to filtered water but without the plastic waste.”

The botlfilter is different from other water filters on the market, Wilkinson said, because it requires no pre-soaking, uses biodegradable and compostable filter bags, and generates no plastic waste. It works by dropping it in and shaking a reusable container full of water.

“I invented a product that separates the filter from its container so people are able to reuse the filter case and simply toss the filter bag into the compost,” she said. “Activated carbon actually assists the composting process. The filter bags are fully biodegradable.”

Activated carbon is one of the keys to making the botlfilter work, Wilkinson said.

“In water, carbon attracts and traps unwanted substances, such as chlorine, pesticides and detergents, which are harmful,” she said. “Each botlfilter bag allows multiple uses, or a constant tap flow for up to four litres or three days of use, whichever comes first.”

Wilkinson recently featured her product at the Toronto Green Living Show, which she said proved to be a great success, and it’s on sale in stores around the city.

She said she hopes the botlfilter will play a role in reducing and eliminating the number of plastic water bottles that get tossed in the trash.

“I like to use the term ‘drink responsibly’,” Wilkinson said. “By that I mean that if you prefer drinking filtered water, then do so responsibly without all the plastic bottles that create carbon footprints to ship them in and out once used.”

About this article

By: Michelle Grace
Posted: Jun 24 2011 10:03 am
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Filed under: News

1 Comment on "Toronto inventor aims to reduce plastic water bottle waste"

  1. THIS IS GREAT- i JUST SAW A REPORT ON GARBAGE iSLAND- THE PLASTIC ISLAND FLOATING IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN..GLAD HE IS HELPING

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