Lockdown has meant a change to so many of our habits – from exercise and where we work, to our eating and drinking preferences. One of the big things we’re all striving to do is cut down on our consumption of single-use plastic (SUP). While the clank of the increased wine bottles in the recycling might be one we joke about, there’s another that makes us feel guilty, especially at the moment: the crackle of empty water bottles. Still, we are trying to cut down. In a recent YouGov Survey for BRITA, makers of water filter jugs and taps, 59% of people said they were using less bottled water because of the environment, while 49% have been drinking more tap water at home. Right now, it feels like life is all about compromises, and one we don’t want to make is the quality of water we drink. So we’re stuck in a catch-22. We want to use less SUP, but we don’t want to drink tap water as we don’t like the taste or might live in a hard water area. Before lockdown, trying to use less plastic might have meant taking a reusable bottle out and about with you. After all, along with a bamboo coffee cup, they showed the world you were trying your best to ditch the single-use plastic. However, at home, many people still use bottled water, and lockdown has perhaps shown them just how much, since their bins filled up with more and more waste. Shifting to tap water is great, but then the taste isn’t always there. So, we’re all thinking of alternatives – is tap the only choice? Well, there is a middle ground; a BRITA water filter jug. It’s not just better for the environment, it’ll take up way less space in your fridge, too. Think of it as an alternative to the #NoFilter hashtag you might have used on Instagram during lockdown. With BRITA, you can think about having filtered water with every single glass. Every BRITA jug has a special filter cartridge inside. Pour water in the top of the jug, and it filters through the cartridge into the bottom, ready to pour. You just wait for it to filter through in a short time, and keep the jug in the fridge if you want your water chilled. “The BRITA filter is a way of reducing the kind of nasties in your tap water you don’t like the taste of, and it’s a way of making your tap water taste great,” says BRITA senior brand manager Lucy Wakelin. “It’s a very simple system – all in the cartridge, with two key ingredients.” The BRITA system is very straightforward, says Wakelin, with two key ingredients doing the work in every filter cartridge. One is activated carbon, which absorbs things like chlorine and heavy metals, the things that you can really taste in tap water. “It really reduces them so that you get a very fresh, clean taste. And then we also use an ion exchange resin, which is what reduces the hardness and the limescale that you get in the build-up you see in kettles or that you see on your tea. Ultimately, what you get at the end is fresh, crisp, clean, great tasting water, without the need for various kinds of bottles,” says Wakelin. Each BRITA cartridge can provide 100 litres of water, after which they can be easily recycled using special receptacles found at any retailer selling BRITA products. “It really cuts down on any of that kind of single-use plastic waste, and it’s much easier to stay hydrated if you enjoy what you’re drinking,” says Wakelin. People want to do the right thing. During lockdown we’ve realised just how much the planet and our wellbeing matters. The water we drink is part of that. “Having the time at home has definitely meant that people have been more willing to compromise, looking at alternatives. We’re definitely seeing that trend increasing,” she says. And the cost? Well, Wakelin says that while the initial outlay – a starter pack is around £22 – might feel more expensive than bottled water, it’s way cheaper over time. Six one-litre bottles of water might only be a few pounds, but they’re soon empty. A filter lasts much longer. “Initially you think, well, I’m spending a lot more, but actually, each filter lasts 100 litres,” she says. “So it’s literally a few pence per litre of filtered water.” Want to find out more and change the way you drink filtered water? To discover how a BRITA filter jug could help you in your quest to be more eco-friendly and ditch the single-use plastic, head to BRITA.co.uk