Once I heard the joking phrase "sometimes university feels like you, your computer and your water bottle against the world" and it resonated with me quite a bit, as during the exam period I spent definitely more time with them than with some of my friends. But of course, like everyone, I sometimes find myself buying a plastic water bottle, often during trips when I may even have it with me, but don't know where to fill it up. Now, every once in awhile this should not be a problem, but according to a report on packaging of 2017, more than half of the food and drink packaging will be completely or partly made of plastic by 2020, with half a trillion plastic bottles produced every year. These are dramatic figures, but there are innovations helping you counteracting this issue!
Refill aims at tackling various sustainability issues with its app, mainly of course fighting plastic pollution. This grassroots movement enables businesses such as shops or restaurants to register drinking water fountains and make them accessible to app users. The business also benefits from being part of the Refill network as it is an additional way to gain exposure and footfall. But is there not a valid safety concern why people still buy plastic bottles? According to a classification by the Center for Disease Control in the US, in many regions of the world, tap water is in fact unsafe to drink, but in developed countries that is not the case. Thus, the "bottled water is safer" argument really does not hold in most of the EU, North America, and some countries in Asia and Oceania, as water is highly regulated and controlled.
As said before, Refill can currently only be used within the UK, but they do have plans on expanding to more countries. Now, they were not the only ones with this idea and there are more options. With Closca Water (200.000 fountains), you can find refill stations around the world and add accessible fountains yourself, RefillMyBottle and Tap (35.000) both show public ones and those provided by businesses like for Refill, while if you have the opportunity to get to Hong Kong you can find the Water refill map 2.0 for the city.
Once again, digitizing resources as simple as a public fountain or a water tap in a shop/bar/restaurant can over time massively impact plastic pollution and at the same time support local businesses and play a role in sustainable development. So, I hope this encouraged you to keep your bottle with you during your day and especially during your travels when the temptation for getting the convenient, but polluting option is strongest.