** Update 11 December 2017: Last week we saw reports that the Mayor has included proposals for new fountains and bottle-refill stations in parks and public squares across the capital in his draft New London Plan. While this is a great start, there’s a catch -- at the moment the plans to provide access to free water are restricted to new or redeveloped public spaces only. So in the coming months we’ll be looking at ways to push for a truly ambitious network of fountains that will be accessible to all Londoners. Please keep signing and sharing the petition!**
**Update 22 November 2017: While the Mayor prepares the final environmental strategy for London, we will continue to collect signatures on this petition and look for additional ways to push for Water for London!**
**Update 10 November 2017: we'll be delivering this petition to the Mayor on Friday 17 November. Please add your name and share to make it as big as possible!**
35 million. That’s the number of new plastic bottles we get through in the UK every single day.
And if that’s not bad enough, it’s estimated that 16 million -- nearly half of those -- don’t get recycled. Instead they end up as part of the tide of toxic plastic waste that’s choking our rivers and oceans.
Many of us try to make a difference by carrying a refillable bottle with us. But all too often our good intentions are frustrated by the lack of public water fountains where we can refill it. We are forced to buy yet another bottle from retailers, and the vending machines that are readily available.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Many cities across the world provide free drinking water fountains in public spaces. Let’s make that happen in London by asking Mayor Sadiq Khan and TfL to help stem the tide of plastic waste and provide water fountains across the city.
Sadiq Khan: provide water for london, and install free tap water fountains across the TfL network!
We all know how hot and thirsty we get travelling on the tube and buses. In summer, TfL encourages us to carry a bottle of water with us. For the 3 years it’s teamed up with multinational Danone to hand out 250,000 single use plastic bottles of Evian to help keep commuters hydrated.
That deal surely benefits Danone way more than TfL and London boroughs who are left to clean up the the tonnes of plastic waste that it adds to.
The Mayor knows that plastic pollution is a problem for London, and in the draft of his environmental strategy for our city states he wants to work with TfL to improve access to tap water.
That strategy is out for consultation now, so let’s make sure providing access to free tap water stays on the agenda by showing how much public support for the the idea there is.
Sadiq Khan: stick to your plan to provide water for london, and install free tap water fountains across the TfL network!
SumOfUs members like you have been taking a stand against corporations polluting our planet with plastic. Earlier this year over 68,000 of us came together to put a stop to Coca-Cola’s opposition to bottle deposit schemes, and now the government wants to introduce one as soon as possible.
An extensive network of accessible, free tap water fountains can only help to reduce the pressure on our planet -- and our pockets -- still further. Let’s make it happen.
Working in partnership with:
More information
The Guardian. 3 November 2017.
The Guardian. 15 October 2017.
The Guardian. 15 October 2016.
The Guardian. 13 April 2017.