In a bid to cut down the purchase of bottled water and its subsequent dumping in public spaces, the district administration of Thiruvananthapuram will now allow people to refill their water bottles at hotels!
The idea was mooted by District Collector K Vasuki during a meeting held at the collectorate on Friday. Agreeing to the proposal, the district representatives of Kerala Hotels and Restaurants Association (KHRA) have stated that hotels will soon provide drinking water free of cost to the public.
Water cans will be placed outside every hotel, and people are welcome to fill their water bottles, without shelling out a penny.
Apart from this initiative, the hotel owners also expressed their willingness to stop handing out plastic straws and spoons along with juices and desserts.
According to B Jayadharan Nair, who is the district president of KHRA, this move is one out of their many humanitarian initiatives, which also includes ‘Annam Punyam,’ under which free food coupons for the destitute were issued to beat hunger in the district. More than 5,000 registered hotels in the district are part of this initiative.
You may also like: Goodbye Disposables, Hello Reusables; Kerala Govt Offices Boycott Polluting Plastic
“Hotel owners must come forward to do business in an environment friendly way. The decision to provide drinking water for free is a major boost to the green protocol initiatives of the district administration. District administration, Haritha Keralam Mission and Suchitwa mission will provide green hospitality certificate for such hotels,” Vasuki had said during the meeting, reports The Times of India.
The topic of banning plastic plates and bags used for packaging and delivery came up during the meeting, but this was not approved as KHRA members cited the unavailability of eco-friendly alternatives as a major glitch. However, Nair added that they would definitely try to cut down the usage.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)