A new initiative is encouraging cafés to offer free refills of water bottles over the summer in order to decrease the number of plastic bottles being used. Owain Jones, the co-founder of RefillNZ, said that is was in the Kiwi nature to be shy to ask for something for free, but the lack of usable water fountains meant that not only are people buying bottled water, they are also looking to high-sugar alternatives.
“What we're doing is putting in more water fountains without making more infrastructure,” he said, noting that cafés already have the means to provide water at no cost. The initiative will help reduce the almost 526 million water bottles thrown away in New Zealand every year.
Around 40 cafés in Wellington have signed up to the scheme, displaying the RefillNZ sticker in their window. Upper Hutt City Council is also working on a similar scheme.
