London goes #OneLess

Changing the way we drink water

#OneLess has been working to eliminate single-use plastic water bottles from London since 2016, putting the capital at the forefront of action to tackle ocean plastic.

Working in collaboration with businesses, policymakers, innovators and communities, we’ve spearheaded a change in the way London drinks water – from single-use plastic water bottles, to refilling and reusing.

Thanks to the work of the #OneLess team and our collaborators, London is on its way to becoming a single-use plastic water bottle free city. Read on to learn more about how we’ve been making a difference!

829,000

bottles refilled every month from #OneLess's flagship 29 drinking fountains

5,076,218

water bottles eliminated from shops, events and supply chains in the last 5 years

of Londoners now use a refillable water bottle, an increase of 7% from last year

Check out the many ways we've been making an impact

29 flagship drinking fountains

We installed London’s first modern network of drinking fountains, which refill 30,000 bottles a month. Their success has led to a spike in fountain installations with hundreds more fountains being installed across London.

£5 million mayoral investment

We’ve built strong relationships with City Hall, informing the current London Environment Strategy and influencing the Mayor’s decision to invest £5 million into the expansion of drinking fountains alongside Thames Water.

80+ organisations taking action

We’ve built a network of 90 organisations, which are reducing single-use plastic water bottle use and choosing more sustainable ways to drink water. Together they’ve eliminated over 4 million single-use plastic water bottles.

13 innovative design solutions

We ran a design challenge, working with 17 designers to develop creative solutions to ignite a culture shift away from single-use plastic water bottles.

125,075 plastic bottles collected

Since April 2016 we’ve carried out 893 bottle clean-ups on the River Thames with 200 citizen scientists, helping us understand the plastic pollution problem.

5 million people influenced

Our 2019 ‘Hello London, Goodbye Ocean Plastic’ campaign reached 5 million people. 1 in 3 Londoners who saw it said they were more likely to stop buying plastic water bottles.