WARRINGTON Borough Council looks set to support the “Tap into Water” campaign – by ceasing to buy bottled water for the Town Hall.
Members of the executive board are to be asked to support the campaign as part of the authority’s climate change strategy.
United Utilities estimate that, nationally, some three billion bottles of water are bought each year. About half a billion was imported.
Transporting bottled water around the county is estimated to produce 33,000 tons of CO2 emissions – almost as much as the whole of Warrington Borough Council’s emissions for a year and equal to the annual energy consumption of 6,000 homes.
Additonally, a litre of tap water costs 1p and it is estimated that someone drinking eight glass of water a day would spend £1 a year if he drank tap water compared to £500-a-year if he drank bottled water.
The council is already encouraging staff to minimise carbon use and to removing bottled water from council offices.
They will also work to ensure that conferences, seminars, workshops or training events organised by the council promote the use of tap water rather than bottled.
Failure to do so could damage the council’s reputation on commitment to climate change and sustainability.
