The shops undertake to fill up the drinking bottles of their visitors free of charge. The aim is to limit the consumption of plastic bottles.
In more than 500 bakeries, hotels, restaurants and other shops, everyone’s drinking bottles are refilled free of charge with Parisian tap water. The “Ici je choisis l’eau de Paris” campaign was initiated by the municipal water supplier “Eau de Paris”. The company manages drinking water in Paris from the spring to the tap and aims to get as many people as possible to switch from mineral water from plastic bottles to Parisian tap water. Unnecessary consumption of water in disposable plastic bottles should be avoided – the network of participating shops should make it easier for people to access tap water.
Only one in two disposable plastic bottles is recycled
“Only one in two plastic bottles is recycled and eight million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year. But it is up to everyone to fight plastic pollution,” says the Eau de Paris website. “Prefer tap water, every day, at home and on the go,” the company continues.
With the “Ici je choisis l’eau de Paris” campaign, tourists and locals can now have their drinking bottles filled with water from the tap easily and free of charge when they are out and about. The participating shops draw attention to the free drinking water with the “Ici je choisis l’eau de Paris” sticker. The service in no way obliges you to buy or consume.
Interested parties can find all participating shops online on an interactive map:
1700 free water points in Paris
Water in disposable plastic bottles has a carbon footprint that is a thousand times higher than tap water, according to a concept from the municipal waterworks, which was reported by several media, citing the “dpa” news agency. According to analyses, Parisian tap water is of the same quality as bottled mineral water, but costs 200 to 300 times less.
In Paris there are already 1200 public or private fountains where you can fill up your water bottle for free. With the 500 new stations of the campaign, the French capital has 1,700 possible filling points. This makes it much easier for Parisians, tourists and those passing through to avoid buying plastic bottles. A concept that is certainly worth imitating for many cities.