Bristol-based environmental consultancy Eunomia has teamed up with Bristol Water, Bristol Waste and the city council to open a free drinking water fountain.
The fountain and bottle filler – the city’s second – is in Queen Square close to Eunomia’s head office. It was officially opened by Mayor Marvin Rees last week.
Eunomia, which paid for the fountain, has completed several pieces of research into the sources of marine plastic and the solutions available to tackle the problem. The firm supports local initiatives as well as making policy recommendations via ongoing work with the European Commission and other stakeholders.
As well as bringing a free hydration point for picnickers, cyclists, joggers and other visitors, the fountain supports the Refill Bristol network of free bottle refill points in Bristol’s shops, cafes and businesses.
It was set up by campaign group City to Sea in 2015 to reduce the number of plastic bottles and bottle tops ending up in the ocean while keeping the public healthy and hydrated.
The fountain’s bespoke design was commissioned to satisfy water regulations as well as fitting in with the historic setting of the public square, originally built in 1727.
Eunomia chairman Dominic Hogg said: “There’s growing awareness of the problems created by littering, and especially of plastics. As well as being an eyesore, littered bottles can find their way to our oceans where they slowly degrade, causing problems for wildlife, and also, for us.
“Drinking water from disposable bottles is also needlessly wasteful. Every time a portable water bottle is refilled, we’re saving enough carbon to charge a mobile phone five times over. That’s why we’re using our company offset scheme to fund it. We hope other businesses will consider sponsoring a water fountain in a public space nearby.”
Bristol Water customer services director Ben Newby added: “We have been supporting City to Sea and the Refill campaign for a couple of years. It is great to see other cities, such as Birmingham and Brighton, starting up similar campaigns but Bristol is leading the way with over 200 refill stations available. It is vitally important that people stay hydrated, especially in the summer months. Only about 4% of the 150 litres of water each person uses every day is for drinking.”
Bristol Waste managing director Tracey Morgan said schemes like Refill Bristol could help transform consumer attitudes.
“Tap water is cheap, every bit as healthy and doesn’t have the huge negative impacts on our environment that bottled water does,” she said.
Pictured, from left: Eunomia chairman Dominic Hogg, Bristol Waste managing director Tracey Morgan , Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees and Natalie Fee, founder of City to Sea
