Every July, our industry rediscovers its plastic problem. Pledges are made, single-use bottles are quietly retired, and the sustainability box gets a satisfying tick. I’m all for it. Plastic Free July has shifted more behaviour than a decade of polite reports.
And the problem is real. The UK gets through around 7.7 billion single-use plastic water bottles a year roughly 38.5 million every day. Despite decades of kerbside recycling, the rate has been stuck at about 57% since 2012, which means billions of bottles still escape recycling annually, heading for incineration, landfill or worse.
But after two years in filtered water, and being much more educated about it myself now, we need to move the conversation on. Because “plastic-free” has become a finish line, when it should really be a starting point.
The swap that isn’t a saving
Here’s the uncomfortable bit: swapping single-use plastic for single-use glass isn’t the win it feels like. And the research keeps confirming it. A 2020 University of Southampton study first found glass bottles can carry a higher environmental impact than plastic for climate change, freshwater toxicity and more. More recent 2024 life-cycle assessments reach the same conclusion. The reason is simple: glass is three to five times heavier than plastic, so it takes more energy to make and recycle, and far more fuel to move around. Add it up, and a single-use glass bottle can end up with a carbon footprint up to 80% higher than the plastic one it replaced.
We’ve changed the material of the waste, not removed the waste.
Why this lands hardest in hospitality
Sadly, nowhere is this more visible than in hospitality. A single busy hotel can move through tens of thousands of bottles a year. They are bought in, delivered by the pallet, stored in space that’s often at a premium, carried floor to floor, and cleared away by the crate. Every one of those bottles is a cost, a carbon footprint, and a small logistical headache. And on the table, most of them are quietly advertising someone else’s company, not yours.
The real answer isn’t a different disposable bottle. It’s not swapping plastic for glass. It’s having no disposable bottle at all. Filter the water on site. Serve it in a beautiful, reusable bottle that carries your own logo. Wash it. Refill it. Repeat for years.
When the savings speak for themselves
Take an average 50-bedroom boutique luxury hotel with restaurants. Each year, on average, they can remove around 45,000 single-use bottles, equivalent to over 13 tonnes of carbon, and save more than £30,000 (up to 80% saving per bottle) in costs. The more water used, the greater the savings. Before EcoPure Waters, bottled water arrives in these venues weekly, sometimes daily for big events, take up storage, and cost the business to transport and dispose of them. Today, chilled filtered still and sparkling water is served in-room and across hotel restaurants in bespoke bottles carrying the hotel’s own logo. Beyond the carbon and cost saving, the water becomes another guest touchpoint that now reinforces the brand and guest experience.
EcoPure’s client community collectively now save 18 million single-use bottles and 5,000 tonnes of CO₂ every single year. All while cutting their water costs by around 75% versus buying it in. Doing the right thing and running a leaner, more premium operation turn out to be the same decision.
And the regulatory tide is turning too: with a Deposit Return Scheme on the way, the cost and hassle of single-use containers is only going one way.
Our Promise
All of which brings me to something we’ve put in writing. We call it Our Promise. It’s the standard we hold ourselves to, and what any venue working with us can expect:
- Premium filtration. Pure water.
- Printing that’s permanent.
- Bottles that last a lifetime.
- A 24-hour fix.
- A dedicated engineer.
- A real person, never a bot.
Six lines, one idea: do water properly, and we will help you do it in a way that lasts. Bottles that survive not just a busy service, but a lifetime. Branding that doesn’t wash off after a month but is permanent. Filtration that makes water a genuine pleasure to drink. And real people whose passion is to ensure our service matches your standards.
So, mark Plastic Free July. Retire the plastic. But keep going and ask whether what you are replacing it with is something genuinely better or a different problem.
Nick Hargrave, CEO, EcoPure Waters
Find out more about our sustainability benefits at Sustainability – EcoPure Waters
Sources: UK plastic-bottle use House of Commons EAC / industry data; glass vs plastic single-use carbon University of Southampton (2020) and subsequent 2024 life-cycle assessments; EcoPure Waters client data.