Get yer water. Only $2 a bottle. Yup, that’s right, we charge for bottled water at Custom Strength. We do have a water cooler that clients can use for free if they bring their own container, but we’ve been charging for the bottles since the end of May, when I got fed up with the overflowing recycle bin each week. Such a waste!

Now I’m happy to say that I just donated $52 to Evergreen, a non-profit environmental organization that funds school and park greening projects. One of my clients had actually suggested that I donate the money to the Conservative Party of Canada as an extra incentive to remember their water bottle, but it turns out the $2 was incentive enough.

Since going to the $2 fee, our clients have only used 26 bottles, or just over 1 bottle per week, which is pretty amazing  considering we have more than 60 clients.  I love stuff  like this:  I get to make  a donation to a worthy organization and we reduced our environmental footprint. Thank you Custom Strength clients!

Here is the email I received from Evergreen:

Thank you for your donation to Evergreen. Your gift is re-connecting children, families and communities to nature in their local parks, schools and backyards.  Together, we are providing Canadians with the opportunity to be part of the solution to our environmental challenges.

When we think of the fall season, we often remember back-to-school. This year, students and teachers across the country returned to school yards that have been revitalized through school ground greening projects and equipped with the tools to learn and grow in an outdoor classroom. For others, the fall involves digging into the community garden to harvest the last tomatoes still warm from the summer sun. As the crisp autumn air blows through our cities, each tree planted through Evergreens stewardship programs will shiver and dig its roots a little deeper into the soil.  This is all made possible because of your commitment to helping build clean, green, sustainable cities.

Does your gym or office waste bottled water needlessly? I highly recommend this approach. It took virtually no time to implement (I told clients, posted a sign, and put out a jar for people to leave their money), and I received no negative feedback about it.

For more about Evergreen, head to their website: http://www.evergreen.ca/

Elsbeth Vaino, B.Sc., CSCS, runs a personal training studio in Ottawa.