What are refilling stations – for consumers?

When you’re out and about, it’s important to make sure you keep hydrated. Our bodies are made up of mostly water and we need to keep replenishing our liquids for a whole range of health reasons. Most adults need between 1.5 – 2 litres of fluid a day to stay healthy, and the NHS recommends that you drink even more if it’s hot out, you are pregnant, you’ve been exercising or if you are unwell.

In many cases the most convenient way to make sure you drink enough when out and about is to buy bottled water. Provision of free, accessible water is not commonplace in the UK and this leads to us collectively buying 7.7 billion bottles of water each year.

This has big environmental implications. Every day, 19 million plastic bottles are littered, sent to landfill or incinerated. If we could avoid buying and discarding so many bottles it would go a long way to cutting our impact on the environment and planet. So, what is the solution?

What are water refilling stations?

The alternative to buying bottled water is to take a refillable bottle with you and keep it topped up so you always have a source of hydration when you need it. More than three quarters of UK adults own a refillable water bottle, and almost two thirds report that they try to avoid buying single-use plastic bottles where they can.

Which begs the question – What are the alternative options if we want quench our thirst with water on the move? Water bottle refills from ‘free’ sources like water fountains is one option, being free and occasionally filtered. They don’t always provide chilled water, and many of us aren’t always grabbed by their civic charm.

The Refill Campaign are doing a sterling job at trying to get partners on board to provide free refills in food and drink establishments the length and breadth of the UK, with over 30,000 partners already signed up. However, selling bottles of water remains at odds with giving something away for free.

Water refill stations such as those provided by H2Origin Refills are on the rise, offering a huge upgrade on the traditional water fountain. Mains sourced, chilled, triple filtered water from a water bottle refill station is a more aligned with the premium bottled water brands, except there’s no global supply chain behind it. Just you and your refillable bottle.

Whichever refill option you take, it all means less plastic waste in landfill, and fewer carbon emissions generated from the raw material extraction, manufacture, transportation and management of the plastic bottle supply chain – all of which accounts for 82.8g of CO2 for each 500ml plastic bottle.

Choosing to take a refillable water bottle with you to make use of refill options like those provided by the Refill Campaign or H2Origin Refills is a great way to reduce waste, and the impact of the ridiculous global supply chain involved in bottled water.

Sustainable hydration doesn’t have to cost the earth. Want to learn more about the impact you can make by taking your bottle to a refillable water station? Click here to see more and contact the team today.