Historic St Andrews is now home to a new water refill tap to enable to people top up with tap water on the go.
The tap is located outside the public library on Church Square and it is hoped locals and visitors to the Fife town will fill up when out and about.
The refill points are part of Scottish Water’s ‘Your Water Your Life’ campaign encouraging people to drink more tap water to stay hydrated, save money and protect the planet by not having to use disposable plastic bottles.
The tap, which is the second Fife tap after the launch of one in Dunfermline last year, has been welcomed by Councillor Ross Vettraino, convenor of Fife Council’s environment and protective services committee.
He said: “These refill taps convert a single-use water bottle to one that can be used time and time again, thereby enabling the community to reduce its reliance on single-use plastics.
“Such plastics, which include those in which bottled water is sold, pose a particular threat to the environment and to the future of the planet because of the energy they consume in their manufacture and because of their persistence in the environment if they aren’t properly recycled.”
The blue top up taps digitally track water usage and records cost savings.
To date, the equivalent of more than 315,000 single-use plastic bottles have been saved with the install of the free refill taps.
Scott Fraser, regional communities manager at Scottish Water, said: “The home of golf and Scotland’s oldest university is a perfect location for our latest refill tap.
“The top up taps bring a supply of clear, fresh and great-tasting drinking water right to the heart of St Andrews for everyone.
“There’s a growing appetite from the public to carry a reusable bottle with them and our refill taps give them easier access free water while they are out and about.
“We are urging more people to get into the habit of carrying a refill bottle and using our refill taps to top up with Scotland’s world class drinking water.
“Our message is simple – these taps are great for health, your pocket and the environment.”
This is the 34th top up tap installed by Scottish Water, and the aim is to have soon delivered 70 public space water refill points across Scotland by the summer.
Additional safety and cleaning measures have been put in place on all the refill taps due to the ongoing Covid pandemic.
This includes additional deep cleaning, disinfecting and maintenance.