Tap water and cheese

Take the tap water challenge at the Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival (opens in new window) this Saturday (11 September) and see if you can taste the difference between bottled and tap water. This is your last chance to have a go as our summer tap water campaign draws to a close.

We’ve been calling for people to give bottled water the boot and turn back to the tap by rediscovering the taste of fresh tap water.

Not only will this help to save money, waste and energy but will also encourage people to drink more water.

Water is vital to our health and most of us don’t drink enough. Read about the Stay Healthy – Just Add Water campaign to find out more.

It’s all about tap water

Another successful tap water challenge event recently took place at Queen Elizabeth Leisure Centre in Wimborne.

Our recycling team dared fitness enthusiasts visiting the centre to see if they could taste the difference between tap and bottled water – more than two thirds of them got it wrong.

Those that got it right received a free refillable water bottle to use time and time again when exercising.

The next challenges are taking place at Kingcombe Summer Fayre on 21 August and Weymouth and Portland Borough Council offices on 23 August 2010, so come along.

Tap water challenge makes a splash in Wimborne

Great news, more than 250 visitors dared to take our tap water challenge at the Wild about Wimborne event last weekend.

Confirming that tap water tastes just as good as bottled, less than half of the people who took the challenge could taste the difference between tap and bottled water. Even the majority of those that did get it right commented that they are more likely to drink tap water because buying bottled is expensive.

The next challenge is taking place in Christchurch on 3 August – how many local people will guess correctly here?

Did you know?

• 2.7 million tonnes of plastic are used to bottle water each year
• Only 10 per cent of water bottles are recycled – the rest go to landfill
• Providing bottled water for British consumers produces an estimated 33,200 tonnes of CO² emissions per year

Find more tap water facts here (opens in new window)

Tap it

This summer, we’re daring you to take the tap water challenge and rediscover the taste of clean, fresh tap water.

Part of a new campaign to help save money, waste and energy, we are calling for you to turn back to the tap. Our recycling teams will be out and about making a splash at events across the county promoting the benefits of ditching bottled water in favour of filling up from the tap.

If you lead a busy lifestyle, it’s often easy to grab a bottle of water on the go, but tap water tastes just as good and it’s much better for the environment. It’s safe, has a low carbon footprint, and generates no packaging waste.

So come along to our tap water challenge roadshows and see whether you can taste the difference between bottled and tap water. The first one takes place in Bond Street, Weymouth on 14 July 2010.