Forum: Having water coolers in malls will also reduce bottled water usage

I applaud Sentosa Development Corporation’s initiative in doing away with plastic bottled water by the end of this year (

Sentosa hotels, attractions, F&B outlets to do away with plastic bottled water,

May 15). This goes someways to address concerns over Singapore’s unenviable position of being the world’s largest consumer of bottled water (

S’pore is top bottled water consumer, spender per capita: UN think-tank report,

March 23). 

Can this initiative be rolled out island-wide? While retailers like convenience stores should not be forced to restrict the sale of bottled water, the shopping malls that house them can provide alternatives like water coolers.

Changi Airport’s four terminals are great examples of places with water coolers, with good sign-posting and different types of water coolers.

There have been some objections in this Forum about the electricity used by water coolers. However, this is a much smaller issue compared to the waste created by plastic bottles. In any case, Singapore’s increasing use of renewable energy in future power generation will make this less of an issue.

Abdul Malek Mohamed Ali