Water Refill Program
Background
A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and it’s predicted that figure will rise by another 20 per cent by 2021. Efforts to collect and recycle the bottles to keep them from creating waste and polluting the oceans are not keeping up with output.
Four hundred and eighty billion plastic bottles were produced globally in 2016 and less than half of those were recycled.
The Water Refill Program
The City of Hobart’s water refill program involves the installation of new public drinking water facilities and the promotion of a free app that helps users find water bottle refill stations in their area.
The Water Refill Program is another in a series of actions to reduce waste and plastics, and continues the City’s progress towards zero waste to landfill. A number of new water facilities will be rolled out between 2020 and 2023.
Looking for a place to fill your water bottle?
The City has installed drinking fountains in public places around the city. Some are suitable for drinking only, whereas some are designed especially so that users can refill a bottle easily as well. There are even dog bowls in some locations, to assist your canine friend to stay hydrated.
The easiest way to find out the location of these water sources is by installing a free app for Android or iPhone.
Install the Tap app
To encourage Hobart residents and visitors to cut down or eliminate their use of single-use containers, the City is encouraging the use of a free app.
Tap – Find Water Anywhere can be used to locate the nearest suitable water source, whether it be a public fountain or refill facility or a private business that’s volunteered to be a water refill station. All of the City’s public drinking facilities are listed on this app, as are business who have volunteered be act as refill stations.
To use the app, simply open it and and a range of water sources in your area will show up on the map.
The app will tag each location as either a "drinking fountain" or "bottle refill" option or both. It will also indicate whether the location is currently open (eg. if it's a shop, it may not be accessible 24 hours) and will indicate approximately how many minutes it will take to walk there from your current location.
Once you decide on the water source you want to aim for click "get directions".
Register your business as a refill station
Hobart businesses and organisations can list their premises as refill stations, to provide as many options as possible for the community to access water.
To participate, a business or organisation should register on the app and place a window sticker in their shopfront. These stickers will be provided free of charge by the City.
If someone comes in requesting water, you simply need to allow them to refill their bottle from the tap.
Advantages of being listed on the app include promoting good will in the community and assisting the City in waste reduction goals. The app also allows participants to list additional features to promote their business, such as free wifi, organic produce, "great coffee" or similar. A photograph of the business can also be uploaded.
To request a sticker or for more info, email the Water Project Officer or phone 03 6278 0235.