DAVIDSON – In 2017, The Guardian conducted a study that found that globally, humans buy one million disposable plastic water bottles every minute, and that consumption was increasing.  But are those bottles really disposable?

The short answer: not really.

91% of plastic isn’t recycled, National Geographic found.  The waste is extraordinary, and the waste is changing ecosystems, and is considered by many scientists to have potential negative health outcomes for humans, as well, as plastic breaks up into microplastics, which are a big problem in our oceans, wrote the Coastal Review earlier this week, following a virtual conference of researchers earlier this month.

This isn’t a new problem: plastic water bottles have been around for quite some time.  And the consumption of water is increasing, globally.

A Davidson-based company, Boomerang Water, believes there’s a different path forward, where consumers can enjoy purified, fresh water, without the waste, and without the carbon emissions caused by the manufacturing and transporting of plastic bottles of water.

Now, the company, which began in the garage of co-founder and CEO Jason Dibble, is in growth mode after raising $1.38 million earlier this year to scale its manufacturing capabilities.

Boomerang Water is revolutionizing the massive bottled water industry by manufacturing, installing, and maintaining manufacturing technology that can produce fresh, ultra-pure filtered water on-site, in any controlled environment, said Dibble.

For companies across industries as diverse as high luxury hotels and resorts to industrial mining sites, beyond the benefit to employees having a source of purified water as a perk, there’s a cost-savings involved as well, because the process is ultra-local and sustainable, meaning thousands of bottles of water could be manufactured each day, with no lag time, shipping time, shipping costs, or waste byproducts.

It’s also a sustainable practice, said Dibble.

Dibble served as a munitions specialist in the U.S. Air Force, and worked four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.  While based abroad, he noticed how the supply chains for bottled water were structured.

“It made absolutely no sense why we’re shipping plastic bottles into another country,” said Dibble.  “It still makes absolutely no sense to ship plastic bottles all over the world.”

For every pound of plastic produced and manufactured, three pounds of carbon dioxide are produced and released into the atmosphere, studies found.  The carbon footprint for one 500ml (16.9 ounce) plastic bottle of water is estimated to be about 90ml (3 ounces), just to manufacture.  Of course, then there’s also the cost of transporting that bottle of water to its destination.

Instead of existing processes, Dibble found himself asking himself, and then others, what if you did everything all at the point of use?

“Look at our future,” said Dibble.  What would that future world look like if beverage companies continue to ship plastic bottles, over and over and over, said Dibble.  “We have to start setting the example.”

Seven years later, Dibble had a completed prototype, and he had a team, including co-founder Jerrod Freund.

Here’s how it works

The Boomerang Water system can be deployed on-site, in any controlled environment.

The result is that the production of bottled water doesn’t involve any distribution.

“Used anywhere where you can control, and get the bottle back,” said Freund.  “You’re not paying for the plastic, or paying for the water, when you buy a bottle of water, what you’re paying for is the logistics of getting it to you.”

That means that the manufactured water is high-quality–the company notes in their marketing “ultra-pure”–and also affordable.  “Our quality is above anything you can buy in the store,” said Freund.

“We want to massively reduce the carbon footprint,” said Freund.  “And reduce the plastic waste.”

Boomerang Water from Boomerang Water on Vimeo.

Here’s the example Freund shares with potential investors: if you were to pick up any plastic bottle of water, and you were to fill it halfway with diesel fuel, that’s the best approximation for how much fuel it took to get that bottle to you.

“Everyone is talking about getting rid of plastic water bottles, but isn’t really doing very much,” said Freund.  Globally, the bottled water industry is estimated to grow to more than $500 billion by 2028, according to one study released in February by Grand View Research.  That Grand View Research study references a 2018 United Nations study, which found that there are nearly 16,000 desalination plants in at least 177 countries that were manufactured to provide purified water.

Growth is occurring due to changes in consumer preferences, and other factors, that study found.

But maybe the future of purified water consumption is not plastic.  That’s what Boomerang Water sees, and that’s what they’re working to change.

“You’ll go down a supermarket aisle, and you’ll see sustainably sourced bottles of water for sale,” said Shaun Zaken, chief marketing officer for the company.  “But some still have a plastic top or label, and those companies are still distributing across the country.”

‘Ultra-pure’ Boomerang Water. Image provided by Boomerang Water.

“We take it one step further, by reusing everything,” Zaken said.  “Our machine takes glass and/or aluminum bottles, six at a time, and over the course of 15 seconds, the machine is powerwashing, sanitizing, filling with ultra-purified water, and capping it, over and over, infinitely.”

Just one client, noted Dibble, plans to run a system to produce between 3,000 and 4,000 bottles each day.  “That will equate to pulling one million plastic bottles out of circulation, every year,” he said.

Anticipating growth

The company launched in Dibble’s garage.  Now, they’re operating out of a small facility in Davidson, north of Charlotte.  Initially, the company raised $1.25 million through a long-term convertible note, which Dibble noted gave the company the liquidity required to bring on an engineer to advance the technology from its initial prototype, preparing the company to construct manufacturing systems on-premise for a wide variety of clients.

“We’re working with one of the largest coal mines in the northeast, helping to replace up to 1 million plastic bottles of water per year from their facility,” said Zaken, noting that is approximately 28,000 pounds of plastic waste that won’t be generated each year.

Each machine is installed on-premise, then leased to the client.  The company also generates revenue through selling bottles and caps, though the bottles can be sanitized and reused.

The company built its revenue model intentionally with sustainability in mind, and its installations include clear designations for bottle returns, such that water can be consumed at or near the point of manufacturing, and the supplies recycled immediately.

On a per-bottle basis, noted Freund, the average cost for clients doing at least 500 bottles each day, is between 25-35 cents, depending on total production volume.

In 2020, the company also launched a direct-to-consumer offering after the onset of the global coronavirus.

Either way, with the company’s water, “you’re never going to get a bottle less than a week old,” noted Freund.

The company’s most recent round will be invested in building out its systems, hiring and onboarding employees, and for client growth.

“Quite frankly, it’s more of a bridge funding round, because we’re working on contracts that could be a significant multiple of this funding,” said Dibble.  “And then we’re going to need to raise some capital, possibly $10-20 million.”

That funding could come soon, possibly in 2021 or early 2022, said Dibble.  “We’re in a growth phase right now,” he added.