Who hasn't experienced it: sweltering heat, you've been on the road longer than planned and you're slowly running out of water. Thanks to the Refill initiative, this is no longer a problem in Wiesbaden. Stores or establishments with the blue Refill sticker offer free tap water that can be filled into drinking bottles. This is good for your health, your wallet and the environment.

In Wiesbaden, there are around 60 stations throughout the city, for example in the JUZ Biebrich, in the 60/40 and in the Umweltladen.

Stores, cafés, restaurants and public facilities agree to fill up water bottles brought along free of charge. All participating water refill stations are displayed on an online map. On site, the blue stickers on the window or door indicate a refill station. By filling tap water into water bottles you bring with you free of charge, there is no need to buy water in disposable bottles when you are out and about. This avoids plastic waste and protects the environment.

You can support the project by using the Refill Stations and asking in stores, cafés, libraries or other public places whether they would like to become a Refill Station. It may also be possible to encourage your employer or a club to participate.

Taking part is easy: First, get a Refill sticker, for example from the Umweltladen Wiesbaden, and affix it in a clearly visible place. Then register as a station on the "Map of Tomorrow" so that the location appears there.

We Germans consume around 46 million disposable plastic bottles every day. That's an average of 207 bottles per person per year. Yet we have an environmentally friendly and inexpensive alternative in the form of our excellent quality tap water. The Refill initiative was launched with the aim of stopping this flood of plastic and encouraging people to drink tap water. In addition, tap water is the best controlled foodstuff in Germany. Several hundred drinking water samples are taken every year in the ESWE Versorgungs AG distribution network alone. In this way, the water supply companies of the state capital Wiesbaden ensure that there are no undesirable substances in the drinking water.

The idea was first implemented in Bristol, Great Britain. In Germany, the initiative started with Refill Hamburg in March 2017 and there are now around 8,000 refill stations across the country. The project is coordinated by the association a tip: tap e.V.