But despite warnings about single use plastic, busy Londoners are still buying bottled water to quench their thirst before throwing it away, where it can take hundreds of years to degrade.
That’s why the Evening Standard is calling for the end of single use plastic bottles – starting with the Midtown area of our city.
With the Mayor’s commitment to deliver 20 new fountains across London this year, and potentially another 17 in the near future, the Evening Standard are pushing to see more drinking fountains in the Midtown area of the capital to combat plastic waste.
While underground stations are some of the most difficult places to install fountains due to limited space, a spokesperson for City Hall confirmed the Mayor’s interest: “The Mayor wants to work with landowners of areas directly outside Tube stations, and explore wider locations across the transport network like Overground stations and busy bus hubs to find suitable locations for water fountains.” It would also be good to see the historic fountain at Princes Circus made operational.
Campaign groups Water for London and Find a Fountain have been working to get more public fountains on our streets, while the likes of Refill, Tapwater.org and GiveMeTap have focussed on encouraging businesses to provide free tap water.
He says whilst community water schemes at shops such as Pret, Costa, Starbucks and Leon work for some, many still feel “pressurised to buy a cake or a coffee” when filling up.
In the first month the Mayor’s fountains at Liverpool Street station were installed, they dispensed more than 8,000 litres of drinking water, the equivalent to 16,000 water bottles.
The new drinking fountain outside Selfridges’ Duke Street entrance can be used by anyone.
Selfridges reported a 1,780 per cent increase in sales of refillable water bottles compared to the same period in 2014.
If we stop so many plastic bottles ending up in the river, we can make a difference to our oceans too.