Greater Anglia’s free water fountains are up for an award for reducing plastic waste

Published on: Friday, 17 August 2018
Last updated: Friday, 17 August 2018

The installation of free water fountains at Greater Anglia rail stations has been shortlisted for ‘Idea of the Year 2018’.

The three fountains, installed at Ipswich, Colchester and Cambridge have already saved over 10,000 single use plastic bottles from being thrown away.

Simone Bailey, Greater Anglia’s Asset Management Director, said: “We already recycle as much of our waste as possible. We have increased our recycling by 71% over the past five years, but we are looking to increase that figure even further.”

“We hope that by providing free water, it will help makes passengers’ journeys a little easier and help reduce the number of plastic bottles that are thrown away.

“We care about the environment, so we are delivering a number of projects to improve our energy-efficiency and operate in a more sustainable manner - from installing LED lighting, to recycling food, to providing free electric car charging points.

The innovative fountains give 19 million Greater Anglia passengers access to free water, helping to keep them hydrated while travelling, and reducing the amount of single use plastic that ends up in landfill or in the ocean.

Earlier this year, Greater Anglia became one of the first train operators in England to offer free water to passengers, investing more than £30,000 in the project.

The initiative is now nominated for Idea Uk’s ‘Idea of the Year’ award and the winner will be announced in November.