About 1,500 bottles are consumed in the US every second — over 250 billion each year. Yet despite initiatives to reduce deforestation, landfill area, and marine debris through recycling, less than 20% of those water bottles are actually recycled.
That means 200 billion water bottles annually, from the US alone, end up in landfills, rivers, and oceans around the world, adding to consumer waste that has been accumulating for decades.
According to Treeson CEO Carlton Solle, “It’s time to change that.”
Carlton Solle founded Treeson Spring Water after taking a walk on the beaches of Costa Rica with his wife and daughter, disturbed by the dozens of water bottles he found washing up on the shore.
For the past few years, Solle has been working on a waste-to-energy project to harness the chemicals in recycled products like water bottles to generate sustainable energy. Yet putting normal bottles, which are petroleum-based, into his generator would still release harmful gases into the atmosphere.
So he decided to create his own water bottles to feed into his clean energy plant.
Treeson water bottles are plant-based, toxin free, GMO free, and are both reusable and recyclable. Their labels made with eco-friendly adhesive and 100% post-consumer paper, and printed with soy ink. Their leaf-shape, inspired by Solle’s daughter, allows the bottle to fit in cup holders, as well as easily collapse flat for shipping back to the plant.
Even the box in which the bottles are packaged is infused with tree seeds — which means you can rip up the box, put it in the ground, and trees will grow.
Taking responsibility for consumer waste: ‘Recycling 2.0’
Most water bottle companies shirk the responsibility of recycling onto consumers. Treeson boasts being the first water bottle company to take complete responsibility for the sustainability of its products, while still empowering consumers to care for their environment at an affordable cost.
Treeson has crafted the most targeted recycling system yet, which they have deemed “Recycling 2.0,” commandeering the US Postal Service.
Peel back the biodegradable label on your Treeson bottle to reveal a business reply mail mark. Stick it in your mailbox, and it will travel back to Solle’s generator at Treeson headquarters, which emits only natural bi-products. Your bottle will help generate sustainable energy to produce even more Treeson products, to “guarantee your bottles don’t end up where they shouldn’t.”
Mail a bottle, plant a tree (for free)
To further encourage use of the zero-impact mail-back system, Treeson promises to plant “one tree for every bottle sold.” Consumers can track their very own trees, planted in the Central American rainforest, and watch them grow using Treeson’s GPS app.
And even if the bottle doesn’t’ make it back to the factory, every part of the bottle is 100% compostable, 100% biodegradable, and 100% sustainable.
Treeson plans not only to reduce negative impact on the environment, but also restore vital habitats, rainforests, and clean water sources decimated by deforestation. Filling their bottles with natural spring water from Costa Rica, Treeson drinkers will enjoy tasty water packed with natural electrolytes and infused with oxygen.
Treeson’s Kickstarter campaign will last between February 11 and March 14, and will allow Solle and his staff to cover initial production and infrastructure expenses, as well as move toward marketing flavored waters and other beverages. View the progress of the campaign here.
