Public water fountains have been introduced to a number of green spaces in Epsom in a bid to cut down on plastic waste and make drinking water more freely available to everyone.

Their official opening on Friday (July 16) was also miraculously timed amid the current heatwave sweeping the UK, and more deliberately with national 'Plastic Free July' efforts.

Epsom and Ewell Borough Council (EEBC) who were behind the new installations said water fountains had been installed in the following locations:

  • Auriol Park
  • Court Recreation Ground
  • Gibraltar Recreation Ground
  • Alexandra Recreation Ground
  • Bourne Hall Park
  • Horton Country Park

They were funded under the 'Community Infrastructure Levy', EEBC said.

"As we embrace Plastic Free July, these new stations are our small contribution towards reducing the amount of damage we are doing to our planet," Councillor Alex Coley of the community and wellbeing committee added.

"If people stop and think about the environmental impact caused by the delivery of bottled water to shops and the amount of single use plastic bottles in use, you realise how crazy and unsustainable it is.

"By making a simple change like refilling your own water bottle, you are reducing your carbon footprint and supporting the fight against climate change and global warming."

Plastic bottles make up a large percentage of the billions of tonnes of plastic waste now filling up landfills and polluting oceans around the world (79 per cent of all plastic produced is not recycled).

In addition, they are made using products derived from the oil industry and so contribute to the climate crisis, global heating and the associated impacts such as increased heatwaves, droughts, floods and threats to the global food supply.