People attending Australia Day events on the Northern Beaches are being reminded to bring their own reusable water bottles because bottled water will not be sold.

Instead, 10 new, portable water fountains will make their Northern Beaches debut on 26 January.

Mayor Michael Regan said it was part of the push by Northern Beaches Council to tackle the wasteful and damaging proliferation of single use plastics, including bottled water.

“We want to encourage people to bring their own reusable water bottles and use the refill stations because bottled water will not be available to purchase from stalls at the Australia Day events.

“By bringing your own water bottle and refilling it at the portable water stations, you are helping the environment by avoiding waste and conserving non-renewable resources, plus you’ll save money!

“Sydney’s tap water is among the world’s best. It comes from fresh, natural sources and is filtered. It’s safe to drink straight from the tap,” Mayor Regan said.

Council aims to promote best practice waste management through waste avoidance, resource recovery and sustainable procurement practices at all public events held in the Northern Beaches local government area.

Council also aims to take a leadership role in the elimination of Single Use Plastics, advocating for legislative change, and influencing and enabling responsible consumption practices.

Council will phase out single use plastics in its own operations and encourage staff, the community and local businesses to do the same.

An estimated 420 million plastic bottles enter Australia’s marine environment every year (Boomerang Alliance)

One million plastic bottles are sold every minute globally (Guardian).