In an effort to improve its green standing, London’s Natural History Museum (NHM) has announced plans to replace all of its plastic water bottles with recyclable cans going forward, offering the first zero-plastic canned spring water to be sold in the UK.

In partnership with British brand Life Water, the canned spring water will be plastic and resin free, with each can 100 per cent recyclable and made of 70 per cent recycled aluminium. The Life Water drinks will also benefit clean water projects globally, with the brand partnering with charitable organisation drop4drop on the initiative.

“Our marine biologists know only too well the destruction plastics can cause and the critical need to halt the tide of plastic entering our oceans and endangering fragile marine ecosystems,” said Ian Owen, director of science at NHM.

“As a world-leading research institution and visitor attraction, we need to lead by example, and this marks an important milestone in our efforts to build a more sustainable future.

“We are delighted to be pioneering the first zero-plastic water cans from Life Water, which is just one of the actions we are taking at the museum to increase our sustainability efforts.”

According to One Green Planet, in the US alone, 24 billion plastic bottles are thrown away each year. Life Water will be available to retailers from 1 May, with NHM starting to stock the cans by the end of next month.

To find out more about how attractions are tackling the issue of single-use plastic, see p. 42-44 in the current issue of Attractions Management, available here.