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Press release 03.02.08
Aldo Zilli backs the ‘clear choice’ for London
Celebrity chef Aldo Zilli has lent his support for the London On Tap campaign, banning the sale of bottled water in his restaurants.
Zilli has joined forces with Thames Water and the Mayor of London and will sit on the judging panel for London on Tap's competition to design a sustainable, iconic carafe for London. He has also pledged to use the carafe in all of his restaurants when it goes on sale next year.
Since the launch of the campaign last week, scores of restaurants, cafes and bars across the capital have pledged to offer and serve free tap water to customers - recognising the impact bottled water has on the environment.
Aldo Zilli said:
“I am delighted to be one of the judges for the 'London on Tap' competition. I think it is an extremely important environmental issue to support tap water over ecologically damaging bottled water and we will only be serving tap water in our restaurants from now on.”
David Owens, Chief Executive of Thames Water, welcomed Zilli's involvement:
“It is encouraging to see how much support this campaign has gained already. Support such as Aldo Zilli’s is fantastic news for Londoners, demonstrating that our tap water can be proudly requested and served.
Our water meets more than half a million stringent quality tests, and in a recent independent taste test was ranked higher than 20 more expensive, bottled brands.
What's more, our water is 500 times cheaper than bottled water as well as emitting 300 times less CO2 to treat than bottled water.”
Former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone said:
“It is great news for London on Tap that Aldo Zilli has agreed to be one of the judges of our competition to design an iconic water carafe for the capital's restaurants, cafes and bars. London on Tap is encouraging people to choose tap water as cheaper and greener alternative to bottled water, and Aldo's huge enthusiasm to promote this message in his own restaurants is a welcome boost.”
The design competition will be launched in May 2008 and is open to all London-based designers. Zilli joins existing judges David Owens and Green Party Member of the London Assembly, Jenny Jones. The remaining members of the judging panel will be announced shortly.
Notes to Editors
- For more information about London On Tap, visit http://www.londonontap.org or contact Nicola Savage or Amy Dutton at Thames Water press office, Tel 0118 373 8921
- For media enquiries relating to Aldo Zilli, contact Katrina Kutchinsky at Neil Reading PR, Tel 0207 2877711.
- The London On Tap campaign was launched by Thames Water and the former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone on 19 February.
- The campaign logo is available for use in editorial and broadcast pieces and can be downloaded from our website.
- The design competition will be launched in all London design colleges in May 2008. Rules and information will be available from the London On Tap website.
- Entrants will be judged by a panel in December 2008. Manufacture of the winning design is due to begin in January 2009 with carafes expected to start appearing in outlets across London from April 2009.
- London On Tap is a partnership with London Remade and WaterAid.
- London Remade helps London reduce, reuse and recycle its waste by developing markets for recycled materials to be made into new products.
- WaterAid is the international charity, which enables the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. Any proceeds from sale of carafes will go to support WaterAid’s work in the developing world.
- Thames Water is the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, supplying clean, drinking water to 8.5million customers and wastewater services to 13 million customers across London and the Thames Valley. The quality of Thames Water’s tap water is monitored by the Drinking Water Inspectorate.
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Downloading logos
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For further information please contact: press@thameswater.co.uk
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