The EcoPure Effect: 2026 — The Data Behind the Single-Use Switch

Published 19 July 2026

EcoPure Waters’ clients save a combined 16 million single-use (750ml) bottles and more than 4,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year by switching from single-use bottled water to on-site refill systems. This report compares the cost of single-use bottled water with on-site filtration systems, and savings hold up against both single-use plastic and single-use glass bottled water.

Where EcoPure Waters is used

58% of EcoPure Waters' total client water usage comes from the hospitality sector (hotels and restaurants). The other 42%: educationand care homes together account for close to two-thirds of usage outside hospitality. Both are sectors where cost predictability and duty-of-care around water quality matter as much as sustainability.

Client sector usage share

Sector	Share of usage
Hospitality	58% of total usage
Education	35% of non-hospitality usage
Care homes	31% of non-hospitality usage
Clubs & golf clubs	22% of non-hospitality usage
Venues & catering	7% of non-hospitality usage
Offices	5% of non-hospitality usage

Is single-use glass bottled water actually more sustainable than plastic?

No. This is the assumption that catches most venues out. Once production, kiln firing, transport, waste collection and recycling are accounted for, single-use glass carries a heavier carbon footprint than single-use plastic. It's also the more expensive format to buy in.

Venues that switched from plastic to glass are, on the data, worse off on both carbon and cost than if they'd stayed with plastic — and significantly worse off than an on-site refill system.

CO2 footprint per bottle per year

Format	kg CO2 / bottle / year
EcoPure Waters (refillable)	0.014 kg
Single-use plastic	0.048 kg
Single-use glass	0.335 kg

How many single-use bottles does switching to EcoPure Waters displace?

Rising from around 9,125 bottles a year at 25 bottles/day to around 73,000 bottles a year at 200 bottles/day per site. Across EcoPure Waters' full client base, this adds up to 16 million single-use bottles saved annually.

Single-use bottles saved per year, by daily usage

Bottles filled per day	Bottles saved per year
25	9,125
50	18,250
100	36,500
150	54,750
200	73,000

How much CO2 does switching to EcoPure Waters actually save?

It scales directly with how much water a site fills. A venue filling 200 bottles a day saves roughly 2.3 tonnes of CO2 a year against single-use plastic, and roughly 23 tonnes a year against single-use glass. Across EcoPure Waters' full client base, that adds up to more than 4,500 tonnes of CO2 avoided annually.

Tonnes of CO2 saved per year, by daily usage

Bottles filled per day	vs single-use plastic	vs single-use glass
25	0.31	2.92
50	0.62	5.84
100	1.24	11.68
150	1.85	17.53
200	2.47	23.37

How much does an EcoPure Waters system cost per bottle?

Higher-volume sites benefit from bottles that become progressively cheaper to run — falling from about £0.37 at 25 bottles/day to about £0.19 at 200 bottles/day.

EcoPure Waters cost per bottle, by daily usage

Bottles filled per day	£ per bottle
25	£0.37
50	£0.27
100	£0.22
150	£0.20
200	£0.19

How much do you save per bottle vs single-use?

Savings per bottle scale directly with how much water a site fills, then level off at higher volumes.

Saving per bottle at full volume (200 bottles/day)

Comparison	Saving per bottle
vs cheapest plastic	£0.27
vs premium plastic	£1.04
vs cheapest glass	£0.71
vs premium glass	£1.61

What makes up the cost per bottle?

Labour is the largest and most stable cost component. Care & maintenance cost per bottle falls fastest as volume increases, and costs reduce further with reusable cap and swing-stopper bottle styles.

How long does payback on a system and branded bottles take?

In three of the four comparisons — both glass tiers and premium plastic — payback on an EcoPure Waters system (including branded bottles and ancillaries) is within 12 months once daily usage passes roughly 25 bottles a day, and within 6 months above roughly 50 bottles a day. The exception is cheapest-tier plastic, the hardest comparison to beat on price alone: payback clears 12 months around 70 bottles a day.

Payback period (months) at 50 and 200 bottles/day

Comparison	At 50 bottles/day	At 200 bottles/day
vs cheapest plastic	19.4	5.6
vs premium plastic	3.7	1.4
vs cheapest glass	5.6	2.1
vs premium glass	2.3	0.9

How much can be saved annually with an EcoPure Waters solution?

Savings range from around £3,000 annually (vs cheapest plastic) for 50 bottles filled per day, to over £115,000 annually (vs premium glass) for 200 bottles filled per day. The greater your usage, the greater the savings.

Estimated annual saving (£), by daily usage

Comparison	50/day	100/day	150/day	200/day
vs cheapest plastic	£3,282	£8,390	£13,497	£18,604
vs cheapest glass	£11,302	£24,430	£37,557	£50,684
vs premium plastic	£17,335	£36,495	£55,655	£74,814
vs premium glass	£27,727	£57,280	£86,832	£116,384

Why the lifecycle is the real difference

Every single-use bottle — plastic or glass — repeats the same six-stage cycle indefinitely: manufacture, packaging, delivery, storage, waste collection and recycling, before the cycle starts again with a new bottle. Each stage carries its own carbon and cost, and it repeats every single time a bottle is used.

EcoPure Waters replaces that loop with three steps that happen once: a single manufacture, a single delivery, and then indefinite reuse on-site. There's no repeat production run, no repeat packaging, and no repeat waste collection for every bottle consumed.

Frequently asked questions