A new public water fountain has been installed off Carnaby Street in a bid to reduce the use of plastic bottles.

It has been placed in Kingly Court in Westminster, and is part of Sadiq Khan's campaign to get people to ditch using single-use plastic bottles.

Three more are expected to London by the summer, while plans are in place to install 16 more across the capital by the end of the year.

Two fountains will open at Liverpool Street Station, and a third in Bankside’s Flat Iron Square.

Plastic bottles scourge

The Mayor of London said: “To get a grip on needless plastic waste we need to provide simple ways of refilling and accessing free water, and water fountains are the much-needed solution.

“I hope the first four of the 20 new fountains this year will be popular additions to Carnaby Street, Liverpool Street Station and Flat Iron Square.”

Plastic bottles pollution facts
  • Plastic bottles are one of the most common items of litter in the ocean
  • Once in the ocean, plastic breaks down into increasingly smaller pieces, eventually becoming ‘microplastics’ and ‘nanoplastics’
  • 10% of Thames shoreline litter collected is plastic drink bottles and lids
  • On one day last year, 2,500 plastic bottles were collected from the banks of the Thames – water bottles were the most common type found
  • UK adults use nearly 7.7 billion single-use plastic water bottles each year
  • The consumption of bottled water in the UK has almost doubled over the last 15 years

Source: www.onelessbottle.org

He is encouraging land and site owners to bid for the remaining 16 public water fountains from a pot of £75,000.

Mr Khan continued: “For years public water fountains have been disappearing from London’s streets.

“I want to hear from land owners in some of London’s most-visited locations so we can continue returning them to the capital.”

Applications will be considered from site owners bidding for fountains in busy shopping streets, business districts, public attractions and other places that have high public footfall.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan

Earlier this month the Mayor launched Refill London, which encourages shops, businesses and cafes to provide free tap water to members of the public.

The first phase of the scheme is running in five areas of London: Greenwich town centre, Lewisham High Street, the Southbank and Bankside, Regent St, and London Bridge.

Outlets include Costa, Tate Modern, BFI Imax and Leon.

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