Article content Montreal’s transit agency has divulged that it spent $76,663 to purchase reusable water bottles for its bus drivers. The purchase was recently published by the Société de transport de Montréal on SEAO.ca , a website dedicated to public calls for tenders, but was made three years ago, according to the disclosure.
On June 29, 2021, Pointe-Claire-based Sobezone Inc. was awarded a contract to supply 5,000 reusable water bottles to the STM without a formal call for tenders. Sobezone bills itself as a company that can provide personalized and promotional products for corporations.
In an email, STM spokesperson Kevin Bilodeau said the purchase was made so the company could be eco-responsible by avoiding having to purchase throwaway water bottles, as it previously did during heat waves. “This is in accordance with the STM’s wish to diminish the purchase of plastic, non-reusable bottles,” Bilodeau said, adding that the agency has a responsibility to provide its bus drivers with water during heat waves, according to norms set by Quebec’s workplace safety board, the CNESST. “The purchase of reusable water bottles allowed us to equip our drivers and allow them to stay hydrated during their work shifts,” Bilodeau continued.
“It is thus a solution that allows us to respond to the workplace norms in an ecological fashion. In the three years prior, the STM distributed 45,448 water bottles. It is thus a positive initiative for the environment and for our .
