Free award-winning water set to cut plastic waste
The initiative encourages people to ‘be a refiller, not a landfiller’, cutting out plastic waste caused from buying single-use bottles of water.
Participating businesses will display “Choose Tap Refiller” stickers on their windows, which lets people know they’re welcome to refill water bottles for free, without having to buy anything.
One cafe owner said he was proud to sign up because Healesville has won best tasting tap water in Australia.
“Everyone loves water and it’s good water. We live next to the reservoir in Healesville, so knowing that we produce the best drinking water in Australia was pretty fantastic,” said Mr Ben Arnold, owner of My Little Kitchen Cafe & Bar in Healesville.
“We use keep cups for our coffee so why not use refill bottles for our tap water. This program is great and we’re happy to do our bit for the environment,” Mr Arnold said.
Despite having some of the highest quality drinking water in the world, Australians spend more than $730 million on bottled water each year.
Yarra Valley Water Managing Director, Pat McCafferty said the Choose Tap Refiller initiative will help people save money.
“With the cost of living rising, we’re encouraging more businesses to join the movement and sign up to our free refill initiative.”
“Buying a bottle of water is the more convenient option when tap water is not readily on-hand. We’re proud that our Choose Tap Refiller campaign helps to improve access to high quality drinking water and promoting it as the most sustainable drink of choice,” Mr McCafferty said.
It is estimated that Australians use approximately 130kg of plastic per person each year.
“The Choose Tap initiative is a simple way to cut down on plastic waste. The bottles are often used for only a few minutes but remain in waterways and streets for decades,” Mr McCafferty said.
To join the movement or find your nearest Refiller establishment please visit https://www.yvw.com.au/refiller-ct.