Choice of regular water at the restaurants Choice of regular water at the restaurants

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6 months ago

site_admin

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Idea Collection for the Objective:

Diners should be given choice of regular water and packaged bottled water should not be forced on them.

Please submit your idea to solve this problem together

Problem Statement:

In many restaurants in Pune city diners need to buy packaged water bottles which results in waste generation, water wastage, increased plastic usage, pollution, increased burden on the transportation and recycling facilities. 

Until recently, the majority of the restaurants offered choice of both, the regular water and packaged water bottle to the diners. Now, the trend seems to be changing where many restaurants do not provide regular water at all. The diners need to buy bottled water. 

This exposes diners to direct chemical exposure through plastic. It affects all the citizens through the pollution caused in collection, transportation and recycling. It affects all the people, future generations through microplastic pollution. 

Thus, this practice has disastrous effects on health, environment and water security for us and the future generations.

Financial Incentive for the restaurants:

Restaurants can charge above MRP for the packaged water bottle, as per the 2017 decision by the Delhi court which was subsequently upheld by the supreme court. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/100635146.cms?from=mdr&utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst)

Restaurants hence have a financial incentive to force diners to buy packaged water. 

Worldwide there is a growing demand for customers rights to be served tap i.e. regular water. 

World-wide movement against this practice:

In April 2010, the British Home Office issued fresh guidelines to bars, pubs and clubs to serve free water to those who ask for it. (https://www.livemint.com/2010/08/19212249/thinking-out-of-the-bottle.html)

In 2009, a Singapore website on Food and Dining (www.sparklette.net), created a list of the restaurants that did not serve regular water and forced diners to buy water. Readers contributed to this list. When the print media took notice of it, the matter snowballed into a movement.