A new drinking fountain premiered in Paris last week, but it's no small town bubbler; this one flows with sparkling water. Italy already has a number of fizzy fountains — will the U.S. be next?
Publicly-owned French water company Eau de Paris installed the fountain in an effort to reduce plastic bottle waste. France has one of the highest bottled water consumption rates in the world, at about 40 gallons of bottled water per person, per year. The company chills ordinary tap water and injects it with carbon dioxide for the new fountain, dubbed La Petillante.
The concept has already taken off in Italy where 215 of the fountains are in place across the country. Although I wouldn't hold my breath for one of these to debut in the U.S., it's a good reminder that sparkling water doesn't just come from the supermarket; it can be made at home with now widely-available soda machines.
Do you have a carbonated water habit and have you tried making it at home?
Read more:
• French fountain spurts sparkling water at American Public Media
• Paris Offers Water With Bubbles, but No Bottles at The New York Times
Related Link: Product Review: SodaStream Seltzer Water Maker
(Image: Eau de Paris)
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This looks like a scheme to game the European Union Emissions Trading scheme. Take byproduct CO2 and pour it down the population. When it comes back out, you tax the burps. Only the French would think of this. Sheer genius!
I love my Soda Stream for fizzy water. We go through bottles of fizzy tap water every day....
I was in Paris 2 weeks ago. Was quite happy to see the municipal water campaign and lack of scorn when requesting tap water in restaurants.
I love sparking mineral water, but I can't abide the packaging and fuel/transportation waste. I kicked my Gerolsteiner habit by promising myself an old fashioned glass & mesh syphon. I have it but don't use it very often; it requires advanced planning and a lot of patience to fill (it has a really small opening).
At home we have a CO2 tank which we use to carbonate at least a liter of water daily. Much cheaper and more environmentally friendly than buying carbonated water, and lasts a lot longer without refills than the Soda Club and equivalent machines. You do need somewhere to stash the unattractive tank though.
Cool idea - that'd be an interesting thing to try in an office complex instead of doing water coolers or vending machines.
My favorite sparkling water use, though, was at my daughter's baptism - the water at the church was really sulphuric and the pastor didn't want my daughter to stink like a rotten egg, so Natalie was baptised with Poland Spring lemon sparkling water instead.
lol, im gunna go check this out tomorrow!