To wonder why this isn't a thing?

[VioletViola]

Maybe I'm missing something, or maybe it is a thing and my area is behind the times but why don't shops have vending machines that dispense water into reusable bottles?

ie. Instead of buying a plastic disposable bottle of Evian/Volvic/Whatever, you pay £X and use your own bottle, or pay £Y and you get a refillable bottle plus the drink?

We have a local vending machine for milk that works like this - why not have one for water?

I'm aware that there are places such as gyms where you can do this from a drinking fountain, but I was thinking more of supermarkets and petrol stations.

cost?

we had one in our canteen, fairly expensive for water refills and theres a fair bit of health and safety to go alongside things like that

Bit hard to justify charging to basically turn on a tap for a bit.

Aren’t they called taps?

Train stations in London have started getting free bottle refill stations, which is great.
I was in a supermarket in the US and they had a machine that dispensed water for 50c. Unfortunately for my colleague who didn't realise it didn't come with a bottle until it was too late.

Cost and hygiene.
Sadly these things get abused.

If I recall correctly - the Buxton open fountain was closed for several years for hygiene reasons. 2017-2020 I think.

Lots of places have refillable water bottle stations, most big train stations near me have them. Other than that it’s just a tap, if you had a refillable bottle you’d fill it up before leaving the house.

Gosh, thanks to the clever ones who have suggested "taps". I thought it was fairly obvious I was referring to situations where it would replace/ offer an alternative to buying a disposable plastic bottle each time - ie. not somewhere where you'd just fill up from the tap.

Cost-wise, bottled water is expensive anyway.

Understandable about hygeine etc though- they do have self serve soft drinks in places like Subway and Pizza Hut, what's the difference?

I don't think people really go to the supermarket for a drink of water. I don't think there would be much call for it. Places where people want water (the gym, train stations etc. already have water dispensing facilities aka taps).

'I was referring to situations where it would replace/ offer an alternative to buying a disposable plastic bottle each time'

What are these situations?

A loaf of bottle refill stations had sprung up around London (outside the tube, in parks) just before lockdown but they obviously were taped up pretty quickly.

Are self serve in Pizza Hut etc still a thing? Not seen one for years.

We have a local vending machine for milk that works like this - why not have one for water?
Is it inside a supermarket or on the street? I've never heard of these, but it sounds like quite a good idea.

they have machine(s) that dispense water for a charge at London Zoo.
I think they state taps in washrooms aren't drinking water, but given the lack of cisterns generally these days, I'm sure they are supplied by mains water.
I guess the stuff you pay for from the water dispenser is probably chilled.

Once I was in Arizona and they had water stores. I am not kidding. I could not wrap my mind around this idea.

I have an app on my phone called Refill which shows you where you can get a water bottle refilled among other things.
www.refill.org.uk/
There are even places like hair salons listed locally to me where you can refill.

An office where I go to work sometimes has a refillable water bottle station and it's pretty cool. You can turn your bottle upside down and push a button and hot water shoots up into it and sanitizes it. Then you can flip it around and push the size of the bottle and it will fill it with cold filtered water.

We went on a road trip around the us in 2014. Water refill points were common place most places that we went. I found it surprising that they were so vocal about refilling your own water bottles and for free- this was mainly California and I know they have been working hard on their green principles.
I was also going to mention the refill app- although I deleted it as it was really poor. We used it on a cub camp in Cornwall and none of the shown sites were there. We were very lucky to find a nice art gallery which allowed us to take several children in to refill their drinks bottles!
I would only pay for Evian level water dispenser if there wasn’t normal level water available as I am not fussed about the taste- but I would be willing to pay some pence for tap water whilst out and about.

@GreyhoundG1rl

We have a local vending machine for milk that works like this - why not have one for water? Is it inside a supermarket or on the street? I've never heard of these, but it sounds like quite a good idea.

It's on the farm where the cows are milked - they have a farm shop/ café and a vending machine where you can take your own bottle or buy a glass one from them to fill up - it takes contactless payments and dispenses a set amount at a time. It's extremely popular and I know there are a few others around Scotland at least.

If you are in the UK you are unlikely to die of thirst wherever you are. This trend of must having constant access to water is just a fad.

I saw them in kings cross today. They do have them maybe just not everywhere.

My local Westfield already has this (but it's currently not in action due to covid)

@Aposterhasnoname

Aren’t they called taps?

😂

Because it's not profitable.

Plastic bottles with water are for convenience rather than because they are cost effective or best for the environment.

One of the things I love about Rome is that you can drink the water from the fountains. People fill bottles at them.