Water Monsters

The ubiquitous plastic bottle has become a symbol as well as a prime expression of our throwaway consumer culture. After its contents are consumed, and thirst is assuaged, the plastic bottle lives on to litter our streets, overflow our public bins and finally, pollute and clog up our oceans and poison marine life.
Though a portion of this waste does reach recycling centers (in London only about 32%) this is but a bandaid on a massive environmental challenge.
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In recent years the growing popularity of reusable water bottles has helped many people reduce their dependence on this master polluter. Instead of constantly buying new disposable bottles, hip busy urbanites can just refill their personal bottles at home, the office, or at public fountains. An average Londoner using a reusable bottle can spare the environment about 175 single-use bottles a year, save himself some cash, and feel smug about doing the right thing to boot.
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Though refillable bottles are an attractive alternative, they are still not as convenient as single-use bottles. Mainly, places to refill bottles are not as plentiful as places to buy single-use bottles.

If making environmentally conscious decisions requires significantly more effort, only the ideologically motivated will tend to make them. In order to encourage more people to opt for refillables, we need to make it more convenient to use them.

Venues across London are already trying to become refillable oriented. Through the #OneLess Design Fellowship we got to interview sustainability officers at venues such as The Natural History Museum, Lord’s Cricket Ground, and King’s College London and hear about the challenges they’re facing.
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‍1. High Costs on Installing New Fountains
‍Many venues lack sufficient refill infrastructure - their fountains are either few and far between, not easily accessible, or not fit for purpose. For example, some fountains’ design might allow for drinking from the tap but not for refilling a water bottle. However, installing new fountains requires a financial investment that is not always available.


‍2. Invisibility of Existing Fountains
‍The gaps in infrastructure are exacerbated by existing fountains being installed in out of the way places where they are very easy to miss. This means often only the truly determined  know their whereabouts and use them.


‍3. Context Constraints
Different venues have different needs and require context specific solutions. The Natural History Museum, for example, is a grade I listed building and cannot take changes easily. Lord’s Cricket Ground on the other hand, has massive crowds that often move together during breaks, also creating challenges.


‍4. Misconceptions about Tap Water
‍Tap water has a bad reputation. In contrast to mineral water, which has vast advertising budgets extolling it, tap water has no one selling the public on its merits. Some tourists might even be understandably wary of tap water if it is unsafe in their home country. They might not be aware that tap water in the UK is strictly monitored, and not only that, it has to adhere to a standard of regulation which mineral water is exempt from.


‍5. Reliance on Revenue from Water Bottles
‍Some venues might have gotten used to the steady revenue stream generated from plastic water bottle sales. In such cases, even if they are motivated to reduce plastic waste, their agenda might be conflicted.

This project was presented during the 2018 London Design Week, as well as the 2018 Disruptive Innovation Festival, and was received with enthusiasm.
However, in order to become the urban utility we envisioned it to be, funding is still required for prototypes and pilots. Hit us up at watermonsters@gmail.com if you have any leads.