Subsidies offered by HSBC Bank Malta’s flagship environmental campaign, Catch the Drop, encouraged 53 members of the bank’s staff to install reverse osmosis (RO) water filtration systems in the homes. It is estimated that the shift from bottled water to treated tap water by the 53 households will mean that over 45,000 fewer plastic bottles will need to be produced and disposed every year.

Domestic RO systems are typically installed only once, offer long running cycles and take up less space than storing plastic bottled water. The RO process uses various phases of filtration to remove particulates and chemicals from the tap water, significantly improving the quality and taste of the water.

HSBC Malta chief operating officer Nikolaos Fertakis commented: “Households with the RO system do away with the inconvenience of carrying and storing bottled water, and for the environment it means that less bottles go to landfill or for recycling.”

Bank employee Nadia Micallef, whose family of four benefitted from the subsidy, said: “Before the RO we were used to carrying large packs of bottles from the supermarket to the car and up to our first-floor apartment, and our weekly recycling bags were always bulging.  Now getting a glass of water is just a tap away.”