An Amsterdam initiative designed to wean people off the use of ‘grab-and-go’ single-use plastic water has bottles has now crossed the Channel.
Already a success in the Netherlands, Bottle Up, a young brand, founded by three Amsterdam-based friends is now selling their pre-filled, reusable, BPA free, plant-based water bottles at 438 WHSmith locations across the UK, including train station and airport locations such as Manchester Piccadilly, Euston, Heathrow, Luton, Waterloo, and Victoria, as well as several hospitals.
In the UK alone it has been reported that over 7.7 billion single-use plastic water bottles are consumed every year, with such water bottles making up over half of the plastic waste in the Thames.
Whilst steps are being taken for plastic reduction in homes, these three Dutch entrepreneurs want to take the fight one step further by actively encouraging, and giving people on the go and tourists the opportunity to buy inexpensive reusable bottles pre-filled with water for the duration of their stay.
The ‘London’ bottle is made in England and filled with English spring water. The water is provided by Elmhurst spring in Staffordshire, and the sugar cane-based bottles are made in Wolverhampton.
5p from every bottle sold is donated to a charity working to ensure everyone can enjoy clean water, decent toilets and safe hygiene.
The first charity Bottle Up has worked with is Charity: Water. Owners Jasper, Bart and Andrew started Bottle Up after seeing the impact tourist waste had on increasingly popular Amsterdam tourist hot-spots. “The millions of people visiting Amsterdam every year, leave behind a trail of waste from single use water bottles,” Andrew explained.
The bottles made by Bottle Up are produced from Braskem’s sugarcane-based I’m Green polyethylene. For every kg of I’m green polyethylene used, around 5 kg of CO2 is saved.
For Braskem, participating in initiatives that encourage conscious consumption, consumer awareness and responsibility through engagement is another step in the direction of a Circular Economy.
“We are very happy that Bottle Up decided to use our I’m green polyethylene for their bottles and are contributing to develop a way to transition from a single use solution to a multi-use solution as well as significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the product,” said Marco Jansen, Circular Economy & Sustainability Leader for Braskem Europe & Asia.
The London bottles will be available in Blue and Red alongside the general WATER bottle design in Pink and Black in 30 London based WHSmith stores.
The general WATER bottle design will also be available in 408 UK based WHSmith stores from 17th July 2020.