Op-Ed: On the Ethical and Mechanical Brokenness of the Elkay ezH2O Bottle Refilling Station
I have never seen a faucet fail to flow or a toilet fail to flush at Columbia Law School. Our facilities staff are great, and modern plumbing has generally figured out how to release pressurized water at a user’s convenience. But there’s one exception: the limp stream dribbling out of Elkay ezH2O bottle refilling stations, creating lines and sowing agita.
To add insult to injury, the fountains give drinkers two dishonest bits of reading material while they wait for their water. To the right, the fountain boasts that it has saved the planet from some improbable number of disposable plastic bottles. To the left, a “filter status” indicator proudly beams green in spite of apparent issues.[1]
As far as I can tell, there is no villain here. Elkay executives did not huddle together and scheme, “let’s over-engineer water fountains and market them with lies.”[2] But two things are clear: (1) There’s no way the fountain outside JG 104 has helped eliminate waste from 501,567 disposable plastic bottles, and (2) Elkay’s fountains are delicate enough to require more maintenance than Columbia wants to pay for. These bottle refilling stations are dishonest and defective.
It’s a classic Columbia Law arrangement: weirdly janky for a prestigious school, fantastic fodder for complaining, and ultimately not that big of a deal. Making peace with the ethical and mechanical brokenness of these fountains is a step toward feeling charmed and not scammed by the rough edges of our institution.
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