Thames Water and the Mayor of London are calling on Londoners to cut single-use plastics and use public drinking water fountains - the water company, in partnership with the Mayor of London, has installed 100 fountains across the capital.

A Thames Water drinking fountain on a high street

The partnership issued the call encouraging Londoners to ditch single-use plastic bottles and access free drinking water at Thames Water and the Mayor of London's fountains across the capital on World Refill Day.

It is estimated that up to one billion single-use plastic bottles are used in London each year, with as many as 71% of Londoners buying at least one plastic bottle every week. Water bottles represent almost half of all the drink bottles found in the Thames, making it the single most common type of drink bottle.

World Refill Day – which took place yesterday - is a global campaign to prevent plastic pollution and help people live with less waste.

The partnership has also announced that an additional 20 drinking fountains will be installed in London schools this summer, to help to increase the number of water-only schools.

In 2019, Thames Water opened its first water fountains in partnership with the Mayor of London.

Since then, the company has installed 100 fountains across London's boroughs with more to follow. By the end of July 2022 Thames Water will have installed 110 fountains in total. Data collected from smart meters show that the fountains currently dispense up to 441 litres per week, the equivalent of nearly 900 500ml single-use bottles.

The simple-to-use fountains located across the capital, mean Londoners and visitors are able to refill their own reusable bottles with free top-quality tap water while reducing plastic waste. The fountains are completely accessible, safe and regularly cleaned. Thames Water will clean and maintain the fountains for at least 25 years.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, commented:

“Delivering more water fountains in London and ensuring that our shops and cafes offer free tap water is an important part of my work to help Londoners easily make small changes that will have a big environmental impact. “

Customers can also download the free Refill app to find more than 4,000 cafes, restaurants and pubs offering free refills across London, including the Thames Water and Mayor of London fountains.

Sarah Bentley, CEO, Thames Water, said:

“World Refill Day reminds us how we can all make small changes to cut plastic waste and using our free water fountains as part of your daily routine is a great way to do this. London has some of the best quality tap water in the world and it’s great to see lots of people grabbing a reusable bottle, stopping by one of our fountains and enjoying it. Helping customers, communities and the environment to thrive is in Thames Water’s DNA and I’m delighted that we’re able to provide fresh, high quality drinking water to Londoners and those visiting.”

The fountains, supplied by MIW Water Experts, are funded by Thames Water and the Mayor of London and installed and maintained by Thames Water.