Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER Published: 7 December 2007
Tap water good enough for borough employees
BOTTLES of mineral water and bottled water coolers are being scrapped from Islington Council buildings.
A motion was passed at Tuesday’s meeting of Islington council ending the provision of bottled water. Employees will drink from the tap instead.
Lib Dem council leader James Kempton highlighted the unnecessary cost to the council of buying water in bottles, as well as the environmental benefits of cutting waste. He said said: “What sense does it even make to have water shipped around the world to us in bottles when we can just turn on the tap? London’s tap water is good, so to me bottled water is a mystery. This will save the council money, as buying water in bottles costs 500 times more. “It’s also a matter of the environmental damage caused by transporting bottled water, not to mention the production and disposal of the bottles. Everyone ought to be thinking about the environmental impact of their consumption.”
He is calling on the Mayor of London and the other boroughs to follow Islington’s lead.