Brita® raises awareness about single-use plastic bottle waste with an exhibit from iconic photographer Edward Burtynsky

Titled H20, the 5-day exhibit at Evergreen Brick Works highlights the adverse impact of single-use plastic bottle waste through Burtynsky's thought-provoking work and a unique Augmented Reality experience by AVARA Media

TORONTO, Aug. 5, 2021 /CNW/ - This Summer, Brita® Canada is raising awareness surrounding the impact of single-use plastic bottle waste in waterways with the launch of H20, a 5-day exhibit at Evergreen Brick Works featuring six thought-provoking photographs of pristine waterways from photographer Edward Burtynsky and a unique augmented reality (AR) experience by AVARA Media.

Experience the immersive AR experience, created for Brita by Toronto-based AVARA Media (co-founded by Burtynsky and Vikas Gupta) on- site at Evergreen Brick Works. Part of the H20 exhibit, this interactive activation highlights the adverse impact of single-use plastic bottle waste for viewers. (CNW Group/Brita® Canada)

Photographer Edward Burtynsky in front of H20, a 5-day exhibit commissioned by Brita Canada at Evergreen Brick Works which features six of his thought-provoking photographs alongside a unique augmented reality (AR) experience by AVARA Media. Open to the public August 5th- August 8th, 2021. (CNW Group/Brita® Canada)

"Helping Canadians make more informed, sustainable choices is a vital part of Brita's mission," says Lindsey Frimet, Marketing Lead for Brita Canada. "We are honored to be part of this exhibit to make the impacts of waste more tangible to consumers. Few things exemplify the human impact on the planet more than Edward Burtynsky's iconic photographs."  

The H20 exhibit includes six works from Burtynsky's Water series and will be featured alongside an unforgettable AR experience that helps guests visualize the adverse impacts of single-use plastic bottle waste, a problem with devastating consequences. According to researchers, every year, 10,000 metric tonnes of plastic enter the Great Lakes.¹  The 2.5 billion litres of bottled water consumed each year by Canadians contributes to this problem.²

Burtynsky says the goal of the images being exhibited is to help Canadians appreciate pristine nature and understand the impact their consumption is having on it – a mission that is aligned with Brita's goal to help Canadians understand the power of their actions in making more sustainable choices. Brita Filters can replace up to 1,800 standard 500mL single-use plastic water bottles each year.

"Take a walk anywhere up north, or along the shoreline at the beach, or along the waterfront of Toronto, or down a path that follows a creek in your town. Discarded single-use plastic bottles are everywhere, and we know what happens to them," says the iconic Canadian photographer. "If they aren't picked up and put into the recycling by conscientious citizens, they will stay right there." Single-use plastic bottle waste left in an area or waterway can take over 450 years to decompose.³

While Burtynsky's work provides a more meditative contemplation of these landscapes for visitors and an underlying understanding of how our choices impact them, the immersive AR experience puts visitors at the center of their impact. The AR experience was created for Brita by Toronto-based AVARA Media (co-founded by Burtynsky and Vikas Gupta). "Our vision at AVARA is 'Building Better Worlds'. We are leveraging the magic of Augmented Reality to engage users in an immersive way to experientially connect them to the biggest environmental and ecological issues our planet is facing. Experiencing the profound adverse impact of plastic is a far greater catalyst to change than simply hearing about it," comments Vikas Gupta, CEO of AVARA.

The AR exhibit transforms the floor into a six-foot-wide sinkhole where single-use plastic bottles fall into an abyss that is rapidly filling with water until it rushes upwards filling the space in front of them with a swirling column of facts about the impact of plastic bottle waste. It ends with a pyramid of 1,800 plastic water bottles in front of the visitor, showing them firsthand the effects of choosing bottled water and why Brita is the more sustainable choice.   

The 5-day experiential exhibit is part of Brita's® ongoing commitment to sustainability and helping Canadians understand the impact all of our choices have. A Brita consumer uses as little as one-eighth the plastic of a bottled water consumer⁴. The brand has also developed a partnership with TerraCycle, where Canadians can sign up online to be part of a mail-in program to recycle their old Brita products. The TerraCycle bins will be onsite for the duration of the exhibit so visitors can recycle their old Brita products to give them a new life.  

"This impacts of the H20 exhibit at Evergreen Brick Works will be felt beyond the 5-days this collection from Burtynsky will be on display," says Frimet.  "It's about drawing the link between our everyday choices and the impact they have. Sometimes it takes an experience like this to realize that."

The exhibit will be open to the public from August 4^th, 2021 through to August 8^th, 2021 at Evergreen Brick Works.

1. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161219151752.htm

2. https://wrwcanada.com/en/get-involved/resources/plastics-themed-resources/plastic-facts

3. https://www.whoi.edu/fileserver.do?id=107364&pt=2&p=88817

4. Based on same volume of water consumed with Brita Products vs. 500 ml PET plastic bottles. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Study of Five Brita Filtered Water Products and Disposable Bottled Water. December 2019.

SOURCE Brita® Canada

Media Contact: Adrienne Harry, Devon Consulting. [email protected], 905-464-4167