It could be the final word in going green - dehumidifying the air around you and turning the collected moisture into clean, filtered drinking water.

As recycling goes a new machine being rolled out on the Island appears to have it all sussed out.

It extracts moisture from the surrounding air to reduce the humidity to a comfortable level, and then through a number of filters turns the trapped moisture into drinkable water that is dispensed - hot or chilled - like a normal water cooler.

No need to lift and replace heavy bottles of water. And the American-built machine has storage for 10 gallons of filtered water, water that is as free from contaminants as that which comes out of a reverse osmosis plant.

At an average cost of 12 cents per gallon, the machine's water works out at half the price of faucet filtered water and way below the $2.40 to $3.50 a gallon for bottled water.

On the face of it Paget-based ClearWater Systems has a winner, as it starts marketing the dehumidifier/water coolers to Bermuda.

To begin with the AM10 will sell for around $2,000 each, or be offered on rental.

Offices and workplaces would appear the most likely location for the machines, which stand as tall and narrow as an average water cooler.

However, a family of four could make worthwhile savings from having such a water supply in their home, said Chris Merritt, general manager of ClearWater Systems.

The machines run on electricity, using the same amount of power as a 100 watt light bulb. A charcoal base filter takes out 95 percent of the impurities from the captured air moisture - such as mould, dust mixes and alike.

Here comes the science part. To get an idea of how clean the resulting water is, compare the quality with typical Bermuda tank water which has around 100 TDS (total dissolved solids) per one million parts. Bermuda tank water certainly does the job when measured against the internationally recognised drinking water quality which is no more than 500 TDS per million parts.

The Aquamaker cleans up the resulting water to 20 TDS, that's on a par with reverse osmosis water.

So how much drinking water would it typically make in a day? If it was indoors in a home or office in Bermuda where the ambient humidity is 55 percent, it would produce five gallons in 24 hours. In higher humidity the amount of water created would be greater.

Mr. Merritt said: "I would say this has to be the way forward. With reverse osmosis there is a waste factor, with ultraviolet light systems they take care of bacteria but then there is a need for filtration."

Bosses at ClearWater saw the machine at a trade show in the US. It immediately caught their attention over competitors' versions because it was actually working and producing water that could be tested there and then.

"In a commercial setting it will work well, particularly as a part of a rental programme. For a family of four who are paying for five gallons of bottled water it would eliminate having to buy water and having to store it." said Mr. Merritt.

The machine has a hot water tap that can be disabled. It also has an automatic shut off when it reaches full capacity.