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Carafe will help our campaign to see bottled water sales dry up
Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Correspondent19.05.09
It comes in blue and green glass, meets impeccable eco-standards and was created by a leading London designer.
But will the “tap water” carafe be enough to knock Pellegrino and Highland Spring off restaurant tables? The £10 design goes on sale today and Thames Water, backed by Mayor Boris Johnson, wants every restaurant in the capital to offer tap water automatically using the carafe, created by Islington industrial designer Neil Barron.
At least 1,000 restaurants are receiving a carafe and Thames Water is in discussions with the Bank of England and the BBC to place an order. It will build on the success of the
Standard's Water on Tap campaign, which persuaded thousands of restaurants and bars to offer free tap water.
A recent study by WaterAid found that tap water is now the preferred choice for 63 per cent of people when they dine out. Chef Aldo Zilli, whose Soho restaurant will be the first to use the carafe, said: “It is important to enthuse restaurateurs and diners about the great tap water that we have.”
The design, Tip Top, was the winning entry in a contest held last year. Carafes are also being sent to the Queen and the Prime Minister. Mr Johnson said: “Tap water reduces waste and helps cut our emissions.”
£1 of each sale will be donated to the charity WaterAid.
Reader views (5)
It's actually called 'Tap Top' not 'Tip Top', because the top of the carafe is shaped like a tap.
- David Masters, Manchester, UK
Mr S.Port, for the love of God, why do you think someone would sneeze into your bottle of water and not your plate of food?
If I go to a reasonably expensive restaurant I'm going to expect a basic standard level of hygiene as, well, standard...
No-one is suggesting that £10 bottles water should be remove from the menu for those that feel the need for them, just that options should be given to the majority of us that don't...
- John, London
Clean water is vital, i would not trust water that has been sitting in a jug for god knows how long, open to the elements and anything else that gets into it.
Will the Carafes be clean or washed, have any of the kitchen staff been sneezing over the jugs? The list for contamination is endless.
Bottled water is clean, good for you, bottled at source and will not damage you in anyway other than it might cost a few pennys, you have a choice what to do with your money and your health. There are hundreds of other drinks out there that should be targeted for being unfriendly and harmfull, Red Bull has put people in hospital, Lucozade has 15 spoons of sugar, some drinks have additives in additives other drinks have ingredients that take up half the label on a bottle. They all have issues, but you have a choice,if you are to target anything its the unhealthy you should be aiming at not the healthy.
- Mr S.Port, London
Good.
For far too long, far too many restaurants have ripped customers off with vastly over-inflated prices for water.
I'll pay good money for good quality food, made with good ingredients and careful and skilled preparation. Likewise, I'll happily pay for good quality alcohol, but I find it outright insulting to be charged pounds and pounds for water!
The environmental aspects of not flying water in from France or Fiji are just an added bonus...
- John, London
I think this is a great idea, encouraging people to drink tap in restaurants is fantastic. The challenge comes when you try to combat peoples bottled water habits when they are on the move. SIGG are the manufactorers of a great re-usable water bottle, that is made in Switzerland and is as eco-friendly. Not only are they 100% leak proof, but they also have over 100 designs in their collection and are BPA and toxin free. In the UK we deposit 3million bottles into landfills everyday, and spend c£400.00 a year on buying bottled water, surely this is not just a sensible choice financialy but a great choice for the planet! check them out at www.sigg.com
- Green Is The New Black, hemel hempstead
