Public water fountains

The great news today is that London's historic Borough Market is to phase out plastic bottle sales and introduce free drinking water fountains.  Borough Market also aims to achieve zero landfill with biodegradable packaging and compostable leftovers. 

The benefits to the environment are obvious, 38.5 million plastic bottles are purchased in the U.K. everyday with only 50% of these 38.5 million recycled.  A staggering 33% of plastic marine pollution comes from plastic drinks bottles. 

Earlier this year the European chemicals agency (Echa) voted unanimously that Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disrupter, linking it to many health conditions, including cancer.  Most single use plastic water bottles are made from BPA as it is lightweight, transparent and shatter resistant. 

There are calls for towns and cities across the U.K. to install water fountains in a bid to cut down on the millions of plastic bottles making their way into rivers and oceans. 

London's first public drinking fountain was built into the railings of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate Church in 1859 by the Quaker Samuel Gurney.