Synthetic Polymerized Receptacle of H20 Syndrome

Does this photograph look familiar? Are you often left with several half-empty, unclaimed water bottles at the end of a shoot day? Are some of these water bottles even nearly full? You and your colleagues could be suffering from SPRHS, or Synthetic Polymerized Receptacle of H20 Syndrome. This condition is more commonly known as the Bottled Water Scam.

The waste of bottled water on set is probably the issue that crawls under my skin the most. Recently, I started bringing a reusable bottle to set. I simply filled it with water from my tap the night before, and stuck it in the fridge for ice cold water in the morning. In case you missed it, yes, I did say it. From my T-A-P. TAP! Gasp in horror. Go right ahead. There is a fabulous article on treehugger.com detailing how water bottle companies have pulled the wool over our eyes for years. That Dasani, a Coca-Cola company, even puts salt in their water to make it taste better. Well, I have news for you. Perfectly clean, sodium-free water actually gets delivered directly to your kitchen at almost no cost to you. And for all you OCD’s out there (me included) you can easily buy a Brita or PUR filter that goes directly onto your faucet. The great thing about bringing your own water bottle is that you're always able to keep track of it throughout the day.

Bitchy Production Designer: “Who left their green water bottle with the pink flowers on the HOT SET?!?!?!

Awesome Clapper Loader: “OOOOH. OOOH. That’s mine, thank you.”

As the Producer, provide your eco-conscious crew members with a refillable station at the Craft Services table like this Coleman cooler.



Make sure your PAs fill it with water AND ice, to ensure ice cold water on set.

One thing I suggest, specifically for feature-length projects, is to purchase canteens or reusable bottles for your crew members instead of buying them the requisite souvenir T-Shirts. By passing them out at the beginning of production, you are sending your crew members the message that you intend to be a Green set. Klean Kanteen provides canteens with your personalized logo on them. The beauty of a canteen is that it keeps cooler longer, and no nasty plastic toxins seeping into your water.



My Alma Mater Loyola Marymount University went completely Green by providing their students with canteens and installing more water fountains on campus. If a campus of 8,972 can change their water-consumption lifestyle, I’m sure we could handle a crew of 20 to 50.

That being said, I know there needs to be at least some source of water for the degenerates or day players. So, at the very least, keep a few water bottles in that cooler and, most importantly, a Sharpie tied to the handle as a friendly reminder to keep track of their bottle.