Join the Refill Revolution: Tap Into Free Water
Although sometimes bottled water is okay for emergencies, tap water in England is safe, thoroughly tested and cheap, and requires no plastic bottles. Whether you’re a London commuter, a dog walker or just someone keen to refill your bottle, finding a refill station has never been simpler.
Refill is the national (and international) campaign to encourage the use of safe tap water, to reduce single use plastic. Shops, restaurants, hotels, offices, councils, universities, colleges, schools and communities can all get involved.
Just use the free app (or find notices) to find a local refill station (to refill a reusable bottle) or find a drinking water foundation. This will also save you pots of money.
If you are a shop or business that wants to get involved, Refill will get you started, with PR training and marketing materials. Tap water sometimes has added chlorine and fluoride, but neither will kill you. And around 2 litres a day will cost a few pence, compared to around £2.50 for bottled water.
If tap water is cloudy, this is usually due to sediment build-up in the pipes caused by too much air, or dissolved minerals, which give a milky appearance. It should be harmless due to UK quality checks, and more common in hard water areas.
How much water should we drink?
The average adult needs around 1.2 litres per day (more in hot weather or after vomiting or diarrhoea). That’s around six 200ml glasses. So drink two glasses when you wake up, have two more before lunch, and two more before dinner. Add more per glass of wine or beer, or per tea, coffee or cola.
Wash and rinse pet bowls daily. Avoid fizzy water or guzzling water after runs or car trips (to prevent bloat). Don’t let pets drink from puddles, due to bacteria, oil and antifreeze. For outdoor pets, ensure drip-feed bottles are not blocked or frozen in winter.
Refill London city
90% of people in London own a reusable bottle, so the campaign is hoping to reduce the estimated one million single-use plastic bottles sold each year (including tourists). Water bottles are responsible for lots of litter in the Thames river.
There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away, it must go somewhere. Annie Leonard
Big cities usually have more refill options, especially in transport hubs, shopping centres, and around tourist spots. If Refill does not cover your area, look into apps like FreeTaps (you can also add free tap water locations).
Water fountains and public refill points
Most cities place public fountains or refill points in:
- City centres and squares
- Parks and green spaces
- Train stations and airports
- Libraries and museums
Refill points in these areas are often marked with a small blue water droplet or bottle symbol. In the UK, many pubs and cafés also welcome people popping in to fill their bottle. Don’t be shy. A quick conversation with a staff member nearly always leads to a friendly fill-up!
In Italy, every town and village has a concrete public water drinking fountain. So why not in England? Some local councils have even filled them with cement, rather than fresh drinking water?
Obviously since COVID especially, water fountains need to be safe (modern ones have two different heights, to serve people in wheelchairs).
But despite their rarity in England today, public drinking fountains have actually been around since the 100s, when the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association began to ensure that people in London had access to free safe water. The first fountain (in London church) had 7000 visits a day. And the city used to have 800 drinking fountains, with hundreds of thousands of users.
So what happened? Some suspect that due to England now being not a nation of independent shops but of big shopping malls, airports and petrol stations, that monies given to councils for rent, results in a conflict of interest. If people did not buy lots of bottled water, these chains may close, and councils would then lose rent.
California’s ‘fountain of woof!’
Beyond public fountains and cafés, local groups are shaking things up. California’s ‘Fountain of Woof’ is a perfect example. This clever station in the Northern Californian dog-friendly town of Carmel, provides water not only for people but also for dogs, blending pet-friendly spaces with hydration for all.
‘Fountain of Woof’ sits at the heart of the town, and features a concrete dog statue, that spurts out fresh water for thirsty hounds.
Tap water ideas for offices & councils
- Councils can install water hydration stations so people can easily fill their bottles for free. These filter out impurities and keep water at the correct temperature.
- Belu offers water filters for pubs, restaurants and hotels, and also sparkling water in (minimum 40% recycled) glass bottles of various sizes. Profits help clean safe water projects. Same as Frank Water Coolers (which helps Indian children).
Belu is an amazing social enterprise, which offers filtration systems for industry, and uses profits to help provide clean water in Global South countries. Just imagine is everyone switched over, what good it could do?
The company offers a range of machines, and can provide filtered water both front and back of house, with marketing materials and user instructions for staff. It also offers water dispensers for offices, meeting rooms, restaurants and restrooms.
There are options for chilled, still, sparkling and hot water available. Free-flowing filtered water also can boost revenues, as you will not be buying in bottled water for your business.
Over 700 million people in the world have no access to clean safe drinking water, with around one million women and babies dying each year, due to lack of clean places to give birth. Every 2 minutes a child under 5 dies, from diarrhoea caused by dirty water. And climate change is making things worse.
Frank Water also offers filtered water stations for wholesale, with profits to provide clean safe water in developing countries, mostly for children in India.
Never give sparkling water to to pets, it could cause bloat.
Although tap water in England is perfectly safe, many people choose bottled water whether that’s for travel, at the gym or in emergencies when there is no tap around. But most shops sell an array of confusing bottled waters in various packaging.
How do you know which one is best to buy? In short, choose water that is locally-sourced (not shipped by plane from Fiji) in sustainable bottles that are easy to reuse and recycle.
Look for bottled water in aluminium cans or glass. Although many brands are now in recycled plastic, when littered they still fall down drains and break into microplastics in the sea, accidentally ingested by marine creatures.
How much water should we drink?
The average adult needs around 1.2 litres per day (more in hot weather or after vomiting or diarrhoea). That’s around six 200ml glasses. So drink two glasses when you wake up, have two more before lunch, and two more before dinner. Add more per glass of wine or beer, or per tea, coffee or cola.
Wash and rinse pet bowls daily. Avoid fizzy water or guzzling water after runs or car trips (both could cause bloat). Don’t let pets drink from puddles (due to bacteria, oil, antifreeze). For outdoor pets, ensure drip-feed bottles are not blocked or frozen.
Before recycling cans, rinse then remove lids (pop ring-pulls over holes). Then step on the can to ‘pinch’ inner rims together, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.
Pure Water, Zero Plastic: The Best Plastic-Free Water Filters
Ecofiltro is a water filter (5 litres) for one or two person households. Engineered by experts, it filters one to two glasses per hour, gradually increasing to 0.5 litres per hour, as the pores of the filter unit open up.
Completely plastic-free, it’s sold in many lovely colours, to blend with your household or office. The package includes a 1.5 litre filter unity with a 3.5 litre filtered water storage unit, for a total capacity of 5 litres.
Just wash every six months, using only filtered water and a plastic-free sponge on a clean cloth. Avoid harsh cleaners, never use soap or bleach, nor expose to direct sunlight. All you need to do is renew the water filter every two years.
Plastic jug filters are quite expensive, the filters are wrapped in plastic, and they don’t fit through the letterbox, if you don’t live near a bit supermarket (to buy or recycle the filters).
Never give sparkling water to to pets, it could cause bloat.
Do you need to filter tap water?
If you don’t like the taste of chlorine (and if your council chlorinates water, there’s nothing much you can do), just do what restaurants do. And air a jug of water for 30 minutes, for the taste to disappear.
Lead pipes are an issue, so check with your builder or council. And don’t drink tap water from bathrooms (some say it’s fine, but often it’s from different tanks). It’s also best not to drink water from warm/hot taps.
These days, we have all kinds of stuff in tap water, from chlorine to microplastics. This can lead to normal tap water tasting unpleasant, or at least not very nice. Filtering tap water basically makes it taste nice, but you don’t have to use plastic jugs.
Ceramic water filters use a porous shell to trap debris and bacteria, like a coffee strainer. These last for months or years, and are easily cleaned with a natural brush. Go for ones that have stainless steel or glass housings. Just fill the upper chamber with tap water, then gravity pulls the water through, and leaves clean water below.
Hard water & limescale in England
Unless you live in northwest or Eastern England, you likely have hard water (which makes it cloudy, due to a combination of chalk and limestone) and although it doesn’t taste as nice, it does no harm.
Most water boards add chlorine (to kill bacteria) and fluoride (Ireland has fluoridated tap water for decades with no good effects on dental health, but it’s added around 10% of England, though new schemes are rare). For old pipes, ask your water board to visit, to check there is no (harmful) lead in your tap water.
Hard water causes limescale, which does not taste nice and can build up calcium and magnesium carbonate, which can lead to bladder stones.
To descale a kettle, fill it three-quarters with equal parts of tap water and distilled white vinegar (also sold in supermarkets).
Boil and cool, then drain and rinse several times, until all flakes have gone. Then boil (full) and empty again, to remove vinegar taste. Adding a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda can help shift stubborn limescale.
Aarke is a stainless steel filter jug with refillable cartridge and granules, but it does cost around £100. You set a dial inside the lid to know when to change the cartridge, and if you remove the granules from the filter cartridge, you can put it in the dishwasher.
Do you need to filter tap water?
If you don’t like the taste of chlorine (and if your council chlorinates water, there’s nothing much you can do), just do what restaurants do. And air a jug of water for 30 minutes, for the taste to disappear.
Lead pipes are an issue, so check with your builder or council. And don’t drink tap water from bathrooms (some say it’s fine, but often it’s from different tanks). It’s also best not to drink water from warm/hot taps.
These days, we have all kinds of stuff in tap water, from chlorine to microplastics. This can lead to normal tap water tasting unpleasant, or at least not very nice. Filtering tap water basically makes it taste nice, but you don’t have to use plastic jugs.
Ceramic water filters use a porous shell to trap debris and bacteria, like a coffee strainer. These last for months or years, and are easily cleaned with a natural brush. Go for ones that have stainless steel or glass housings. Just fill the upper chamber with tap water, then gravity pulls the water through, and leaves clean water below.
Hard water & limescale in England
Unless you live in northwest or Eastern England, you likely have hard water (which makes it cloudy, due to a combination of chalk and limestone) and although it doesn’t taste as nice, it does no harm.
Most water boards add chlorine (to kill bacteria) and fluoride (Ireland has fluoridated tap water for decades with no good effects on dental health, but it’s added around 10% of England, though new schemes are rare). For old pipes, ask your water board to visit, to check there is no (harmful) lead in your tap water.
Hard water causes limescale, which does not taste nice and can build up calcium and magnesium carbonate, which can lead to bladder stones.
To descale a kettle, fill it three-quarters with equal parts of tap water and distilled white vinegar (also sold in supermarkets).
Boil and cool, then drain and rinse several times, until all flakes have gone. Then boil (full) and empty again, to remove vinegar taste. Adding a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda can help shift stubborn limescale.
Water-to-Go makes lightweight yet durable reusable water bottles, made from biodegradable sugar cane. The lids are made from recycled vegetable oil and wood pulp, both easily recycle at end of use. What makes these bottles unique, is that they contain a filter inside. So you can fill up with tap (faucet) water, and off you go!
Use code WTGAW20 for 20% discount code
Created by the founders of a textile company (who were aghast while travelling abroad to see mountains of plastic waste), they decided to create these bottles that have filters using three technologies (mechanical filtration, electrical and activated carbon) to filter out bacteria, heavy metals and harmful chemicals.
Each filter can replace 400 plastic water bottles, working out at just over 6p per litre of water you drink. Ideal for busy mums, gym goers, commuters or backpackers, one filter (based on drinking 2 litres of water per day) should last around 3 months.
How to use this filter bottle
Fill the bottle up, then turn it upside down. Submerge the new filter in water for at least 15 minutes (do the same if the filter has been dry for some days). The larger bottle is dishwasher-friendly (the lid and smaller bottle are hand-wash
Choosing a reusable water bottle is a great investment, if you hydrate on the go. As well as stopping the constant litter of plastic and glass bottles everywhere, it saves you money (many shops and other places now offer free refill of tap water.
Take time to choose one that suits. The average person needs around 2 x 750ml bottles of water a day, so choose this size, if it helps remind you how to much to drink.
Don’t drink hot liquids from wide-mouth bottles.
How to clean reusable water bottles
Just separate the lid from the bottle, and wash both in warm soapy water, rinse and leave to dry. You can also place both parts on the top rack of your dishwasher. It’s recommended to clean daily. Leave to air-dry or with a clean tea towel.
To deep–clean, half-fill the bottle with cleaning vinegar, fill up with cold water, screw the lid on and leave for 10 to 12 hours. Hand-washing is recommended.
Reasons to choose reusable water bottles
Reusable water bottles are simple swaps that can help to reduce single-plastic waste from bottles that get littered, break down into microplastics and end up in our oceans, harming marine creatures. And take thousands of years to break down.
Buying a reusable water bottle also saves money long-term, as you can fill it up with water from the tap/faucet, which costs around 2000% less than bottled water.
Many people are also concerned over plastics leaching from bottles into the water. People who drink from plastic bottles may be ingesting 90,000 more microplastics than those who use alternatives (like a cup!)
Insulated reusable water bottles are available to keep drinks cold or hot (usually for 12 or 24 hours respectively), which can’t be done for plastic water bottles. So ideal if you prefer to drink say hot water on a mountain hike!
And carrying a reusable water bottle in your bag (or in the car) also serves as as physical reminder to drink more water!
Phox Compatible is a refillable cartridge that fits all jugs, kettles and coffee machines that use Brita Maxtra & Matra+ cartridges.
If you’re not in the market to buy one of their own jugs, this is the next best thing. It slots into your current jug and is built to last years. Just replace the filter granules every 45 days.
Sold in 3 versions (for hard/very hard water or an Alkaline pack with increased magnesium) it won’t remove chlorine (you need reverse osmosis for that). The jug takes just a few minutes to fill, then lasts 200 litres.
You can put most parts in the dishwasher (not the jug base or rubber gaskets). If you go on holiday, immerse in water, remove and place in a jug of fresh water, to stop the granules drying out.
Never give sparkling water to to pets, it could cause bloat.
