Water way to tackle obesity and plastic crisis
MILLIONS of Londoners could ditch plastic water bottles if drinking water was handed out at train, Tube and Overground stations, a survey has found.
Water for London is demanding drinking water fountains be installed at stations throughout London to tackle what it called the capital’s “plastic pollution crisis”.
The mayor, who has set himself the target of cutting plastic packaging by 20%, was handed two petitions with more than 16,000 signatures on the final day of his environment strategy consultation on Friday November 17. Research from YouGov states that most Brits would stop buying sin- gle-use plastic water bottles if tap water was more readily available.
Seven in 10 of respondents to the survey felt uncomfortable asking for free tap water without buying something else.
At the same time, more than a third of respondents felt awkward asking for it in a reusable bottle, even if they were making a separate purchase.
Water for London teamed up with global citizens advocates SumOfUs to petition the mayor for the policy, which they argue will help reduce plastic waste, save Londoners money and tackle obesity.
Soft drinks are the largest source of source of sugar in children’s diets according to the government’s scientific advisory committee on nutrition.
Will Routh, founder of Water for London, said: “Water points in Transport For London stations are a cost effective option. Nearly all stations have undercover areas, existing piped water supply and are closed at night when vandalism and weather damage is most likely.
“Our research from similar projects in parks and schools suggests that infrastructure and maintenance costs inside ticket areas would be a fraction of those for outdoor parks and other public spaces. The TfL infrastructure is an asset for London and we should use it to help tackle some of the city’s urgent issues.”
Mr Routh also argued that the refill points would help Transport for London end delays caused by passengers being taken ill on hot summer days due to dehydration.