By Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The UK, once upon a time, and no, this is not the beginning of a fairy tale, had loads of public drinking water fountains, dispensing tap water for free on demand.
Those fountains were located, more or less, everywhere; in parks, school yards and on the high streets and other locations. But, the majority of them today are, literally, history and are either broken, have been disconnected or have even been removed altogether.
I believe that ion the USA, in towns and cities, there also drinking water fountains once could be found quite frequently. Their state today I do not know but... the state of the British ones we certainly do know and a sad state it mostly is.
We need to bring our fountains back and add to the collection public fountains as well as other places where people can fill up their own water bottles for free. Only that way will be overcome the problem with the bottled water addiction.
Find-a-FountainTM in association with Aquatina is working with the 1859 Drinking Water Fountain Association to bring back our free public drinking fountain and also tries to add to the list other free sources of tap water, wherever those may be. Some are in Leisure Centers, others are bars and pubs and restaurants, etc. All places where people can fill up their Aquatina bottles, and hopefully also other reusable water bottles, for free with tap water. It is hoped that this way people will, finally, abandon the “bottled water” habit.
We all know, I am sure, that bottled water – and no, there is no such thing as “ethical bottled water” – is not sustainable. It harms the Planet and our wallets too.
Who, in his or her right mind, is going to spend the equivalent of US$ 1.50 for about a quart of water when it is but a cent or two from a tap at home or free from a drinking water fountain or other source.
I certainly am not someone who would pay that kind of money for water and that's why my Aquatina bottle travels with me everywhere.
Aquatina is a highly inventive company based out of the UK that produces expandable water bottles. A full Aquatina bottle holds 500ml of water, but here’s the beauty: when you finish the water, the bottle collapses to 1/3 of its original size to magically fit in your purse, backpack, or pocket. And, of course, the product is environmentally friendly.
Aquatina bottles come, now, in four colors and the tops of the lids are now color-coordinated with the bottles and a new kind of lid is currently being developed and trialled for the Aquatinas as well.
The Aquatina collapsible water bottle is proudly “Made in England” and alone for that reason it gets lots of Brownie points in my book. The rest of the points are for ingenuity of design and for the fact that it is so easy and simple to carry and use.
Definitely 11 out of 10...
© 2011
