Everyone carry around a reusable bottle!

Waste Watch has been working in partnership with Thames Water and Hydrachill to install water refilling stations at London’s busiest transport hubs. The first machines to appear will be at the Tower Bridge Museum and Hammersmith Bus Station in November 2009.

The machines can fill reusable bottles of up to 500ml with chilled tap water for a 20p charge. All proceeds will be donated to Waste Watch’s Sustainable Schools education
programme.

Only a third of the 13 billion plastic bottles sold in the UK last year were recycled. The machines encourage people to re-use their bottles, thereby preventing waste in the first place.

Tap water is a thousand times cheaper than bottled, which is more expensive per litre than petrol. Water refilling stations dispensing chilled tap water are the smarter, greener, more economical choice.

If the trial proves successful, it is hoped the scheme will be extended to underground, bus and railway stations across London and the south-east  efore the 2012 Olympics.

Maria Andrews of Waste Watch said: “The water refilling stations will help Londoners to drink fresh, chilled water on the go as well as enabling them to make greener choices. We believe water refilling stations will help reduce the waste created by single use plastic water bottles.”