More than four months since hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, many are still fighting to survive amid the devastation of the storm. For those struggling to find potable water, relief is coming in the form of an innovative pouch developed by Sawyer Products and Flair Flexible Packaging. A life-changing development for the disaster survivors, the new water transport and filtration pouch provides a simple means of collecting, carrying, and eliminating pathogenic bacteria from even the most heavily contaminated water.
The product of almost two years of development, this unprecedented pouch was constructed to withstand extremely adverse environmental conditions, equipped to face the many challenges of a relief effort environment; specialized handles to provide carrying comfort and strength, a custom filling port to facilitate filling from a variety of sources, and custom fitments to accommodate Sawyer’s advanced proprietary membrane technology filter. Uniquely challenging to develop, the Sawyer pouch is as easy to use as it is effective. “The system is simple, it runs on gravity and filters out 100% of pathogens.” says John Smith of Sawyer Products.
The pouches have become a crucial element of the Red Cross’ relief efforts in Puerto Rico. This is, however, not the first time Sawyer Products has played a role in bringing clean water to people in need. The “Sawyer International” campaign has brought its incomparable filtration systems to 80 countries around the world. “We estimate,” notes Smith, “around 30 million people drink water through one of our filters every day.” The new pouch configuration represents an evolution that has made the filtration system easier to handle and use, and easier to bring to remote areas.
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