The second of two water fountains that we have sponsored as part of the wider Refill and Plastic Free Greater Manchester campaigns has been officially unveiled.

In March 2019 the first water fountain opened in Bury with the support of Bury Council, United Utilities, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Refill. The second fountain was unveiled this week, and has been permanently installed in the Incredible Edible Garden in Ramsbottom.

The aim of the fountains is to make it easier for local residents to refill water bottles on the go, enabling them to choose reusable rather than single-use plastic options.

We sponsored a similar venture in 2017, unveiling one of the first community water fountains in Bristol next to our head office. We used our carbon fund – money set aside to offset the carbon emissions we produce though our daily operations – to sponsor green initiatives, most recently planting over 1,000 trees in Avonmouth, Bristol.

Our Chairman Dominic Hogg said:

“We’re proud to help fund this fountain as it will help reduce consumption and littering of plastic bottles, helping in a small way to address the problems of plastic pollution and of climate change. It is important that people stay hydrated and have access to ways of refilling either at participating refill outlets or at fountains like this one.”

The head of our Manchester office, Mark Hilton, said:

“We have used our carbon fund to sponsor the two newest additions to Manchester’s network of Refill Stations, and we sincerely hope that, as the number of community water fountains increase, it will become easier for the public to choose a reusable option rather than contributing to plastic pollution with single use plastic.”

“The water fountain we installed by our head office in Bristol’s Queen Square has been heavily used in the two years since its opening. We are proud to be helping GMCA towards their goal of a plastic-free Manchester and we hope to see the new fountains having the same impact as we have seen in Bristol.”

Cllr Andrew Western, Greater Manchester’s lead member for Green City-Region said:

“In Greater Manchester we are committed to stamping out avoidable single-use plastics. Fountains like this one are just one way we are trying to do this, making it easier for people to use refillable bottles and cutting down on the amount of plastic waste harming our environment. This is a really positive scheme that I hope people will make the most of.”

The award-winning Refill campaign is run by City to Sea with the aim of enabling the public to find free water on the go, making it easier for people to choose reusable options.

Photograph (L-R): Front – Emma Greenwood (Youth MP for Bury), Abbie Sellers (Plentiful Plastic Free Shop); Back – Chris Matthews (Head of Sustainability, United Utilities), Laura Chepner (Primary Veducation Consultancy), Alex Forrest (Senior Consultant, Eunomia Research and Consulting), Pete Fillery (Plastic Free Rammy and Incredible Edible).