By Anna Hagadorn, Greentown Labs Intern.  This is the third in a series of articles by Greentown Summer Interns.

During the daily buzz of activity that keeps Greentown Labs going, I have the chance to interact with each of the incubator’s member companies when I engage with them during group tours, troubleshoot operational obstacles for their team, or simply find myself brewing coffee at the same time. Chatting with member CEOs has given me the opportunity to grasp both the mechanics and potential applications of many of the technologies being built in Greentown’s vast prototyping space. Here are a few of the companies I’ve interacted with most: 

Refresh Water

 I love water. I detest buying it.

 Refresh has developed their own brand of vending kiosks that dispense flavored, carbonated, or filtered water at the point of use. The kiosks are outfitted with a touch screen for customers to view their drink options and customize their experience. When the company expands and kiosks are integrated in the existing infrastructure, the customized drink you fill at one station will be readily available to you at another.

 Refresh Water’s innovative vision redefines where and how we would consume water, with the ultimate goal of eliminating the need for bottling plants and drastically reducing the overwhelming issue of plastic waste, which is primarily generated from single-use beverage bottles.

 I love that Refresh envisions a society in which consumers have more control over their water consumption than beverage companies and which encourages use of reusable water bottles as an alternative to disposables. They are building an infrastructure of water access points which would theoretically eliminate significant energy and pollution costs associated with bottling and transporting water. I’m looking forward to a future where Refresh kiosks can be found in transit hubs, shopping plazas and student centers, and I won’t ever have the need to purchase bottled water.

Grove Labs

BostInno recently listed Grove Labs among its nominees for Coolest Company  at this year’s BostonFest! Roommates from MIT, Gabe and Jamie envision a future in which people grow much of their own food in their owns homes, with a revolutionary new appliance called a Grove.

Combining aquaponics with modern industrial design and electrical engineering, the Grove enables people to maintain an indoor vertical garden by simply controlling the irrigation and lighting systems through a mobile app. Several different modular iterations exist to accommodate diverse space and gardening needs, allowing for consumers to scale their Grove up or down.

What most excites me about Grove is that their technology empowers people across farms, suburbs, and cities to provide the most important nutrients for themselves and their families by democratizing slow, naturally fresh food consumption. Furthermore, the Grove would significantly reduce the amounts of pesticides and fertilizers necessary in industrial agriculture production, eliminate much of the transportation associated with bringing food from farm to market to home, and address serious environmental justice concerns around access to affordable fresh produce in urban areas. As a college student living in Boston, I wish I could keep a Grove in my kitchen!

Loci Controls

 Loci Controls has developed an automated monitoring and control system to optimize the collection of methane and other gases produced by landfills for energy generation. Beyond increasing potential revenue from landfill gas-to-energy plants, the Loci Controls landfill management solution reduces the risk of noncompliance and mitigates odor concerns.

 What I think is truly phenomenal about Loci Controls is that their product is such a common-sense solution which improves the mechanical efficiency of landfill gas collection, a profitable venture, but it also provides a multi-faceted solution that addresses both the problematic emissions from landfills and offers a sustainable source of renewable energy.

 These are just a few of the technologies being developed by entreprenteurs at Greentown Labs. Each day I learn something new about how to solve a different environmental problem, and I get to watch them build the technology to do it! Stay tuned for more technology features and #OnlyAtGreentown moments!