SALFORD QUAYS Pret a Manger store is one of the first in the country to trial a filtered water tap to encourage customers to reuse plastic water bottles.

The trial is being held across Manchester Pret stores and the newly opened range of Vegan Pret’s in London.

A  team leader in the Salford Quays Pret store said the trial is proceeding well.

A help-yourself tap to the left of the counter means customers can avoid queues. If customers don’t have a water bottle to refill Pret has a stack of glass cups to the left of the station for use free of charge.

Filtered tap in Pret Salford Quays
Filtered tap in Pret Salford Quays

 

If the trial is successful then it’s likely Pret will roll it out to stores countrywide, therefore encouraging other coffee chains to install similar stations in their stores.

The CEO of Pret, Cllve Shlee, talked about his aim for the trial:

“These shops will also start selling reusable plastic bottles alongside our regular water bottles, so the choice is clear. The aim is to understand if customers will choose to refill a bottle rather than buying a new one.”

This is a step in the right direction for UK consumers as the public become ever more aware of how modern life is affecting the environment.

Find your closest Pret store to take part in the trial:

Effect of plastic bags on the environment

A million plastic bottles are bought every minute around the world.

While the majority of plastic bottles bought are made from polyethylene terephthalate, a recyclable plastic, fewer than half of plastic bottles were recycled last year.

Research in the past has claimed that drinking one plastic bottle of water is as bad for the environment as driving a car for 1 kilometer.

Find out more about the filtered water project by Pret here.

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