Bristol Water is set to install eight new water fountains across Bristol - the first fountain will be officially unveiled on the College Green today as part of National Refill Day.

The initiative is part of a campaign to reduce single-use plastic spearheaded by Bristol based City to Sea.

The new water fountains will quadruple the number of refill fountains in Bristol and will be installed over the coming months by Bristol Water, in partnership with Bristol City Council and Bristol Waste. Collectively, they will prevent 50 miles of plastic bottle waste and save local people half a million pounds a year, versus bottled alternatives.

Mel Karam, CEO at Bristol Water, said:

“Often, people turn to bottled water out of convenience. As a local water company, we want to reduce plastic waste here in Bristol by making tap water more publicly available on the go.

“We want to empower our community to opt for a reusable water bottle instead. Last month we took to a boat with City to Sea to remove plastic from our beautiful Harbourside and the number of plastic bottles we found in the water was frightening.

“We have some of the best drinking water in the world; it’s the healthiest thing you can drink and one thousand times cheaper than bottled alternatives.”

Cllr Nicola Beech, Cabinet Member for Spatial Planning and City Design at Bristol City Council, said:

“This project plays a really important part of our plans to make Bristol a more accessible place to live, to work in and to visit. We’ve prioritised locations in busy areas and on commuter routes where people are walking and cycling.

“Drinking fresh, clean water is a basic need and by providing these fountains, we can not only support that but also play a leading role in reducing plastic waste. It builds on the successful work already started with Bristol Green Capital in 2015.

“The council has committed to reducing single-use plastics, including replacing the sale of drinks in disposable cups to reusable alternatives in City Hall and setting up a second Refill station on the first floor. Members of the public can fill up their water bottles at these two stations for free.”

Natalie Fee, founder and CEO of City to Sea said the Refill campaign will have saved an estimated 100 million-plus single-use bottles from entering the waste stream by the end of 2019. There are more than 500 Refill Stations across the city listed on the free Refill app where thirsty Bristolians can find their fill of drinking water.

Bristol Water already offer two refill points on Millennium Square and Queens Square, which have saved over half a million plastic bottles since they were installed in the city in 2015.