Will free tap water soon be available in restaurants in Spain?

Free tap water in restaurants has been long talked about in Spain, but when will it become a reality?

In the summer of 2020, the news of free tap water in restaurants went a bit unnoticed. Spain was coming out of confinement, the pandemic seemed like it was almost over and some thought it wrong to talk about free things considering how long the hospitality industry had been closed for.
The Waste Law sounds like an old topic although, after a long process – which began in that already distant summer – it has now been approved in Congress.
The law contemplates various measures that have been talked about a lot in recent years but that have not yet entered into force. For example, the ban on plastic straws or single-use cutlery that came into force in Europe last summer but has not yet been implemented in Spain.
Compared to this issue or the new waste taxes, the concept of free water in the hospitality industry seems much simpler. Despite this, every time the obligation to offer free tap water in bars and restaurants is mentioned there is controversy.
As stated in the preliminary draft of this law: “Consumers, clients or users of its services will always have to be offered the possibility of consuming non-packaged water free of charge and complementary to the offer of the same establishment.”
It does not seem that there will be more specific instructions on the application, so it will be up to the customer to ask for that free tap water. In some cities, this will be complicated by the taste of the water and it will also require a period of adaptation so that hospitality establishments get used to guests asking for pitchers of water to accompany food or as a complement to other drinks.

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