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Bottled water

Over two billion litres of bottled water are sold in the UK every year - enough to fill the new Wembley Stadium twice over - and only one in five plastic bottles is recycled.

Drinking tap water saves money and the environment!

Blind taste tests revealed that most people can not tell the difference between tap and bottled water, and just over half said they preferred the taste of tap water.

Bottled water is 1,000 times more expensive than tap water and much more damaging for the environment. Millions of barrels of oil are used to manufacture plastic bottles and transporting mineral water across the globe produces large amounts of carbon emissions. Empty plastic bottles also take up a lot of landfill space and plastic incineration uses up huge amounts of energy, producing even more greenhouse gases.

UK tap water is one of the safest waters in the world and undergoes three million tests a year to make sure it stays that way. It is sourced from good quality natural underground wells or reservoirs, lakes and rivers and contains minerals, like calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Some people think that tap water doesn't taste nice but that’s because we normally drink it at room temperature whereas bottled water is often chilled.

Here are our top tap water tips:

Keep a jug of tap water in the fridge at home and at work and drink it within 24 hours.
To keep your tap water chlorine-free, let it stand for 20 minutes to let the gas evaporate naturally.
Take reusable bottles with you on the tube, to work or to the park.
Clean your reusable bottle regularly in hot soapy water to keep it sterile and hygienic.
Ask for tap water in restaurants and cafes.

For more information visit www.water.org.uk

Over two billion litres of bottled water are sold in the UK every year - enough to fill the new Wembley Stadium twice over - and only one in five plastic bottles is recycled.