Free water dispensers that people can use to fill their personal bottles are turning up in many shops and cafes throughout Tokyo and other cities. The trend is growing out of awareness for reducing the use of disposable plastic bottles and protecting the environment.
A Muji household goods outlet in Tokyo's Ginza district has a water dispenser on the 1st floor near the vegetable section. One 37-year-old female company employee said after filling her personal water bottle that she has stopped buying bottled water. "This way, I can decrease the amount of garbage every day," she said.
Ryohin Keikaku Co., the operator of Muji, began installing water dispensers in its stores from July to encourage people to reconsider their lifestyle of buying disposable plastic bottles. By the end of August, about 140 of its stores had installed water supply equipment.
Furniture chain IKEA, operated by IKEA Japan, also installed water dispensers in all 11 of its stores in Japan as a way to encourage its customers to reduce plastic waste.
--Location search application
Such efforts are not limited to companies; citizens' groups are helping as well.
In September last year, the organization Social Innovation Japan released the app "mymizu," which allows users to search for about 7,000 water supply spots in Japan. It also has a function to show the number of PET bottles that can be spared by supplying water.
The Tokyo-based citizens' group Sui-Do! Network, which is working to reduce the use of PET bottles, is promoting a campaign called Refill Japan to set up water supply spots. The cafe Slow in Minami-Otsuka, Toshima Ward, Tokyo, which is cooperating with the project, provides water for free. "Please feel free to ask for water supply," its manager said.
Even in Europe and the United States, free water spots are catching on. According to the organization, in Bristol, Britain, more than 300 shops, including cafes, have started providing free water, a move led by a citizens' campaign. In Paris, about 1,200 water supply spots have been set up since local government offices stopped providing drinks in plastic bottles.
--Growing awareness
Behind the efforts to reduce PET bottles is a growing awareness of the need for environmental protection.
According to the Tokyo-based Council for PET Bottle Recycling, 25.2 billion PET bottles were sold in fiscal 2018. While 85% of them are recycled, many are collected together with combustible garbage and burned. In addition, discarded PET bottles litter rivers and the ocean and don't biodegrade, becoming a long-term blight on the environment.
The amount of energy used in the production and transportation of PET bottles has also been pointed out as an environmental burden.
In 2015, the United Nations adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 17 areas, including energy and nature. The inclusion of targets such as Life Below Water in the SDGs has also encouraged efforts to reduce PET bottle use.
"In order to reduce the use of PET bottles, it is necessary for the government to actively set up water supply spots in public facilities and provide subsidies when companies set up water supply spots," said University of Tokyo Agriculture and Technology Prof. Hideshige Takada, 61, an expert on plastic waste.
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