Sustainability | Life Solutions

Plastic Free July 2020

250 million participants in 177 countries.

Behind these global numbers are people like you and me who care. Behind the many is the one, and we all share in this world together.

Global movements seek to create the positive conditions for positive things to happen, benefiting people, the planet and prosperity. People join environmental movements like Plastic Free July to inspire positive change and create a healthy, sustainable environment.

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Plastic Free July has inspired over 250 million people in 177 countries to avoid and reduce harmful single-use plastic waste. They provide resources and ideas to people every day at home, work, school and in communities around the world. The harmful impacts of waste and environmental pollution are increasingly being recognized.

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Like all these caring, courageous people, we at Life Solutions also make a positive difference. One of the ways that we do this is through our Paperback Program, which helps us to reduce paper, cardboard and other paper-based packaging. Another way we make a tangible positive difference is through our Meat Free Monday initiative, eating healthier, lower environmental footprint food every Monday at our Shanghai office.

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Reflecting our mission of inspiring China’s transition to clean drinking water, the Life Solutions team has also participated in plastic waste pick-ups in China like this one. These kinds of events – which you can also participate in through Plastic Free July – not only support a healthier, safer environment, yet also creates opportunities for people in the workplace and community to get to know each other better, be inspired and inspire others.

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If another 250 million people like you and me reuse things and reduce our single-use plastic then this can foster cleaner water, air and soil – foundations of health and lasting wealth.

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Credible, certified Billi

Credible, sustainability certified Billi

https://www.globalgreentag.com/products/eco/

Not even the best marketing can improve a poor quality product. Quality is quality, hard won by the best companies in the world who are dedicated to not just their own success yet also the satisfaction of their customers. Though many companies – perhaps looking for a quick fix or perhaps not knowing better – greenwash their products to make them sound ‘green’ and sustainable, Billi doesn’t.

For over 25 years, Billi has been making high quality, reliable clean drinking water systems for corporate, hospitality and residential clients. Quality is increasingly being seen as included the environmental sustainability performance of products. Not to mention quality certifications like the Australian Standard Quality certification, UK Watermark certification and China CCC certification, the Billi Eco, Quadra and Quadra models were the first clean drinking water products in the world to be certified to Global Green Tag’s LCA Rate ‘Gold’ certification.

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And that’s a tough certification to get. The sustainability industry is often filled with unsubstantiated eco-friendly claims to sell green products. Instead, Billi chose to have several of its products undergo one of the most rigorous and science-based product sustainability assessments available today. Among others, Global Green Tag certified to ISO 9001: 2015 Quality Management, and externally verified as compliant to ISO 14024 for Type 1 (Third Party) Ecolabels, ISO 17065 for Conformance Assessment Bodies and produce greenhouse gas calculations are compliant with ISO 14067 for Product Greenhouse Gas Calculations.

After passing through thorough, independent and peer reviewed Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) by an experienced and qualified team, including senior managers and scientists, Billi Australia, manufacturer and designer, received the LCARate Gold certification and the ISO 14025 Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The Billi Quadra, for example, scored highest in the environmental health and low ecotoxicity category, demonstrating that compared with other water filtration systems, the Quadra achieved a 0.10 on a scale of -1 to +1 with a low score meaning better environmental product performance (0.10 is a 90% improvement over the business as usual benchmark product). In addition, the Billi Quadra is water and energy efficient, as well as being low carbon.

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Don’t take our word for it, check out the facts. The independent Green Tag EcoPoint score card is available here or contact us in China to read Billi’s up-to-date Global Green Tag product certification

An Ode to Reusable Cups, Mugs and Bottles

An Ode to Reusables

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A favourite cup becomes more than just a way to drink. It can become a part of the furniture, a part of what makes a home or workplace comfortable and welcoming.

Some people love to decorate glasses, cups and mugs they use at home. Other people enjoy long lasting metal, glass or high density plastic drinking bottles, using them for everything from travelling to sport events. I remember making ceramic mugs in art class in high school. Some companies even design their own company cups complete with logos or even a playful message or design. When I worked at EF Education First a senior Production Manager once gifted the team with a personal mug with a photo of them on it. This was one of the most memorable Christmas gifts I have ever received.

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Whatever the design, size or color of the reusable mug, cup, bottle, or glass, they have many benefits. They not only help keep us hydrated with safe, healthy and refreshing water or give us pleasure through beverages like tea and coffee, they also can provide – the more personal the better – a sense of familiarity and feeling of home.

Reusable cups and bottles also can have substantial environmental benefits. Globally, people are increasingly aware and concerned about the impact of waste and pollution on the environment. This includes yet goes beyond Styrofoam or single use plastic cups, and beyond what we see in shops or littered along a river.

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With an estimated 8 trillion pieces of plastic dumped into the world’s oceans each year and about 91% of plastic not being recycled, the impacts of single use plastic, Styrofoam and paper cups is substantial. Yet, are reusable cups, mugs and bottles any better? After all, both create waste and air, water and landfill waste. Both can sometimes be made of non-renewable or energy intensive materials. For example, a 16 Oz paper cup takes about 33 grams of wood, over 4.1 g of petroleum, 1.8 g of chemicals, 650 BTUs of energy and half a pound of greenhouse gas emissions to produce.

Reusable cups, mugs and bottles reduce environmental footprint while continuing to provide users with what they need, such as clean water – yet only if they are used for a long period of time. According to a Lifecycle Assessment by Trinity Colleague, reusing a plastic mug more than 16 times and a ceramic mug more than 25 times creates environmental savings and less waste. After meeting the environmental ‘break-even’ point, further re-using of a cup or bottle – and avoidance of single-use cups – will generate environmental benefits.

According to Ecoffee, if 2 million people chose to reuse their cup just once a week it would save 104 million cups a year from landfill.Now, that is something worth drinking to!

For more insights and inspiration, follow us on social media.

World Oceans Day 2020

Protecting the Oceans, Saving Ourselves: World Oceans Day 2020

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The wave rolls in over your feet as sand gives way, pushing sand through your toes. Couples, families and school groups play games on the beach, eat and take photographs. Some people wear shoes, some people are barefoot: everyone’s happy, relaxed. The waves roll in again and again, as they have from before we can remember. That endless sound of the ocean draws millions to its shores each year.

You smile at the sun swarming your face, the clean air holding you in its embrace. Then, something hard bumps against your foot. You look down and are surprised to see a plastic drinking bottle. Its plastic wrapper has long since washed away, its clear surface becoming tarnished like an old stone. Strange, you think, there aren’t even any cafes or picnic tables near here. So, you look around more carefully and see that is not the only plastic bottle. There are hundreds in the sand at the high tide line. Some are half-way buried in sand, others wrapped in seaweed.

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With some cities in China increasing their separation of waste and increase recycling rates, is plastic still harmful?

With Shanghai and other cities in China stepping up their waste sorting since the summer of 2019, recycling rates are improving. China has been steadily improving its recycling rate and is efficient at recycling materials like plastic. Recycling is helpful because it extends the useful life of materials like aluminum, paperboard and plastic. It also keeps these materials from ending up in farmer’s fields, rivers and the ocean.

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Plastic drinking bottles are useful for carrying water, tea and other drinks, yet plastic production is harmful in several ways, including in production. In addition to the fact that many single use plastics come from non-renewable fossil fuels and use energy in their manufacturing, harmful toxic chemicals are also released as air pollution and can also pollute soils and waterways. Toxic contaminants like toluene, benzene, sulfur oxides, nitrous oxides, methanol and volatile organic compounds are found in plastic production’s toxic ‘cocktail’.

After being used, plastic drinking bottles have been found in many rivers and oceans around the world. In the UK, according to WWF, 500,000 tons of micro-plastics have been found in the ocean each year. These ‘plastic pieces injure, suffocate and often kill marine animals, including endangered sea turtles and monk seals.’ So, a drink in single-use plastic bottle may taste sweet, yet plastic pollution might leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

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World Oceans Day connects and encourages people to protect and restore the ocean. The aim is to protect 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030. Here at Life Solutions, we help people to avoid the damaging effects of single use plastic drinking bottles by using long-lasting clean drinking water systems and re-usable cups and bottles.

This way, we can enjoy the sweetness of life – such as enjoying a refreshing, hydrating glass of water on a hot day – and leave the ocean for future generations to enjoy and care for.

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This World Ocean’s day, join us in protecting the precious ocean. Contact us to chat and find out more.