Reusable Water Bottles Resources at MIT

white stainless steel water bottles on a table outside

Design out waste with reusables 

There is no shortage of choice when it comes to water bottles—from single-use plastic or paper to reusable bottles in just about any material you can think of. While each material has its own pros and cons, when it comes to sustainability, the best water bottle is the one you reuse again and again. Regardless of material used to make a water bottle, each reuse helps to reduce the environmental impact of making and disposing of that bottle. 

Commencement 2025

For 2025, MIT made the switch from single-use water bottles to reusable water bottles for MIT community members taking part in Commencement activities. For more information on the OneMIT Commencement Ceremony, Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony and all events, visit the Commencement 2025 website. 

The goal of distributing reusable water bottles at Commencement include:

  • Reduce waste generated at Commencement activities, moving MIT closed to its waste goals
  • Provide a reusable resource—the provided water bottles can be used repeatedly. Research has shown that the higher the number of reuse for any water bottle, the lower its relative climate impact.
  • Provide a keepsake from an important day. The water bottles include a sketch of MIT's campus, making them unique and less likely to be disposed of after just one use.

  • Increase awareness of water bottle filling stations on campus. MIT has more than 500 water bottle refilling stations on campus. Due to event restrictions, not all of these locations will be accessible during Commencement activities. Explore a list and map below to see which locations are accessible during Commencement and located close to proximity to festivities. 
     

    water bottles with drawing of MIT's killian court
     

    Water Refilling Locations

    Building Closest rooms to water bottle filling location
    Schwarzman College of Computing (Building 45) 000CA, 105, 240, 200CB, 201A, 300CC, 300CD, 411, 400CA, 541, 500CA, 641, 600CA, 741, 700CA, 800CA,
    Building E38 100CD, 200CD, 200CB, 300CC
    Pratt School (Building 5) 100CA, 200CA, 300SA
    Rogers Building (Building 7) 100LA, 200CC
    Stratton Student Center (W20) 000CA
    Kresge Auditorium (W16) 100SA, 000CA