Both mayor of London Sadiq Khan and secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs Michael Gove have suggested that water fountains and drinking bottle refill points could be installed around the UK.
The Guardian reported on Mr Khan’s plans to roll out a series of water fountains and bottle refill stations around the UK’s capital earlier this week, in a bid to cut the usage of single-use plastic bottles.
It’s part of Mr Khan’s blueprint for London report, which states: “Free drinking-water fountains that can refill water bottles, as well as be drunk from, should be provided in appropriate locations in new or redeveloped public realm.”
Mr Gove has also announced that the government is looking at providing greater access to drinking water fountains around the country, also in an attempt to curb our plastic usage.
The newspaper also pointed to a survey by YouGov and Keep Britain Tidy earlier this year, which found that 70 per cent of people feel tap water should be more freely available.
If you’re organising a festival or large-scale event, you may want to think about how you can use your event water delivery to provide refill stations for those who bring their own reusable water bottles with them, rather than forcing them to buy bottled water.
Some rural parts of the UK, such as Devon, have introduced the Refill Initiative, whereby local businesses will refill people’s water bottles with tap water free of charge. As of October, more than 20 businesses had already signed up to be part of Refill Devon.
