Day 11 · Waste

Carry a bottle

Put a refillable bottle in your bag today and refill it at the tap.

A plastic water bottle has a working life of about twenty minutes and an afterlife of centuries. Most are used once. Where tap water is safe to drink, and across the UK it is, a refill costs almost nothing. Any bottle you already own will do; the greenest one is the one in your cupboard. Fill it before you leave, and refill in cafés, stations and workplaces, most of which will top you up without a fuss. It is one purchase you stop making, every day, for good.