Hawaiians take immense pride in their unique and primal bond with nature. In fact, Hawaiians call themselves keiki o ka ‘āina, or “children of the land.” The notion and practice of mālama i ka ‘āina, meaning “to respect and care for the land”, is one of the most important pillars of Hawaiian culture.
The Hawaiians have embraced this symbiotic relationship with the environment for thousands of years- while nature provided them with food, clothing, housing, tools, even musical instruments and canoes, they in turn were responsible for protecting and conserving the environment and its resources through sustainable practices. WAIĀKEA takes this responsibility seriously.
Our environmental initiatives include using one of the most sustainable fresh water resources in the world, using only 100% RPET bottles, utilizing low emission shipping, and actively participating in regional reforestation and other carbon offset programs- all of which have led WAIĀKEA to be one of the first premium bottled waters and beverages in the world to be certified CarbonNeutral®.
WAIĀKEA, Bottled with Mother Earth in Mind®
WAIĀKEA prides itself on using high-grade 100% RPET, or recycled polyethylene terephtalate, for all of its bottles. RPET is post-consumer recycled plastic and has incredible environmental advantages.
In comparison to regular or virgin plastic bottles, our 100% RPET bottles:
– Use 85% less energy to manufacture
– Use 90% less water
– Reduce carbon emissions over 90%.4
On top of this, we only use the highest quality RPET to make our bottles, bottles that are also BPA Free.
While we are proud of our achievements, WAIĀKEA promises to strive to innovate not only our own product, but hopefully the industry as a whole.
WAIĀKEA is working towards harnessing renewable bio-polymers that make for a fully recyclable and naturally biodegradable end-of-life option when it comes to our bottle.
4 Getting to Zero: Finding Profitable Solutions in the Waste Stream. May, 2013
WAIĀKEA’s source is located at the eastern base of the Mauna Loa volcano in an isolated area surrounded by rich and bio-diverse forest preserves.
The slopes feeding our Kea’au aquifer capture over 200 inches of pure rainwater and snowmelt each year, converting into a daily sustainable yield of 393 million gallons per day (State of Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management). 5
The meaning of this is significant: our source could provide enough water in a month to satisfy the amount of water that is consumed globally in a year.
However, WAIĀKEA bottles less than .0001 of 1% of this.
Not to mention, WAIĀKEA uses 33% renewable energy, 25% of which is geothermal, for all of its sourcing operations. This sustainable yield and source use is integral to Hawaii’s conservation.
5 State of Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management (2008)
In September of 2012 WAIĀKEA became one of the world’s first beverages ever to be awarded CarbonNeutral® certification. This was incredibly important to us at WAIĀKEA, and for our continued efforts to preserve Hawai’i’s ecosystem.
Since its inception, WAIĀKEA has worked diligently with The Natural Capital Partners and RSK, two of the world’s leading emissions consultants, to measure and reduce the environmental impact of both its business, and its product, to net zero.
After analysis was done of the significant environmental initiatives already in place for WAIĀKEA, all the emissions relating to the company and the production of WAIĀKEA were quantified and then further reduced to net zero through a variety of additional environmental reforms.
Only companies that have employed the most stringent of environmental standards and reduced their CO2 emissions to net zero in accordance with the CarbonNeutral Protocol may carry the CarbonNeutral® stamp of approval. The CarbonNeutral Protocol is the global standard for carbon neutral certification.
FIND A RECYCLER
Laulima means “many hands working together in cooperation and harmony”, and represents a pillar principle within Hawaiian culture. Working together is imperative, and only together can we protect our aina.
In order for a closed loop recycling system to function, consumers, recyclers and manufacturers must employ the principle of laulima.
Consumers play the important role of ensuring their post-use products end up in the appropriate recycling stream.
PLEASE USE THIS RECYCLING LOCATOR BY EARTH911 TO LOCATE A FACILITY NEAREST YOU.
BAG-IN-BOX UPCYCLE PROGRAM
While most people will be able to recycle their #4 used bag-in-box bags locally, we provide an upcycling program that gives each bag a new life for those that can’t.
Please use the recycling locator above to determine if your local recycler accepts #4 plastic.
We use modern pyrolysis technology to convert our bags into wax based materials as well as high-grade fuels. This in turn results in significant energy and environmental benefits, including reductions of up to 14 percent in greenhouse gas emissions, up to 58 percent in water consumption, and up to 96 percent in traditional energy use.
10 upcycled bags makes almost half a gallon of high-grade fuel that can be turned into wax for candles and other goods, char, energy to power machinery, and much more.
WHY IS THIS SIGNIFICANT?
Conventional oil extraction can be environmentally damaging. By contrast, the plastic-to-fuel upcycling process takes certain products bound for the landfill and turns them back into a usable product using a clean, environmentally friendly and cost-efficient process.
HOW TO UPCYCLE YOUR BAG-IN-BOX
- Step 1: Save your bags! Reduce our carbon footprint and ship your bags back 10 at a time.
- Step 2: Open the box from the top and pull out the empty bag.
- Step 3: Cut the bag open with scissors, draining remaining water, and let dry.
- Step 4: Place as many saved bags as you can into a UPS padded envelope. Only Waiakea bags please as these have been pre-approved materials by our upcycling partner.
- Step 5: Request a prepaid shipping label here by contacting our customer service team.
- Step 6: Place the prepaid label on the front of the envelope.
- Step 7: Drop off at your nearest UPS shipping center!
IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFO
Please send no less than 10 bags at a time. The purpose of this upcycling program is to reduce our collective carbon footprint, so ship smart! Only Waiakea bags from the bag-in-box can be upcycled at this time. Please do not include other materials from your recycling bin. Waiakea bags have undergone significant testing with Nexus technology to ensure compatibility. Any other materials could pollute the upcycling stream. Mahalo nui!