Bulgarian Project is Semi-Finalist at a European Social Innovation Contest

The project is an interactive map of the free sources of drinking water in Bulgaria. It aims to encourage the use of tap water instead of bottled, thereby reducing contamination with disposable plastic bottles. The map is open and filled in by volunteers. Everyone who want to add a fountain can do it directly on the map or to send the coordinates to zerowastesofia@gmail.com.

The author of "Fountains in Bulgaria" - Simona Stilianova, says:

"Access to drinking water is a fundamental human right. According to the World Economic Forum, water scarcity will be the biggest threat the humanity will face in the next decade, and I believe that the conscious use of depleted natural resources by business and consumers are the core of the problem's solution. "

One million plastic bottles of water are bought every minute in the world, and each one requires 3 litters of water and 250 grams of oil. 91% of them are then not recycled.

People buy bottled water because of the conviction that it is cleaner and safer than the tap water. There are many sources of qualitive drinking water in Bulgaria, including hundreds of mineral springs. Performing additional quality tests, signaling options for non-working fountains are part of the next steps in the implementation of the project.

At the next stage of the competition in July the "Fountains in Bulgaria" will become part of the Academy of Innovation in Turin and in the autumn will compete for funding of 50,000 euros.