Islington Council Drops The Bottle

4.32.00pm GMT Wed 5th Dec 2007

Bottles of mineral water and bottled water coolers are soon to be a thing of the past in all Islington Council buildings and, if Council leader James Kempton has his way, across the whole of London government.

The Liberal Democrat leader of Islington Council, Councillor James Kempton, today gave the order to stop every Council department purchasing bottled water, telling them to drink from the tap instead. This follows the council's agreement to a motion proposed by Councillor Kempton at last night's council meeting.

Cllr Kempton highlighted the unnecessary cost to the council of buying water in bottles, as well as the environmental benefits of cutting waste.

James Kempton 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 reducing the amount of waste they produce, and thinking about the environmental impact of their consumption."

He called on the Mayor of London and the other boroughs to follow Islington's lead, and also urged local businesses to consider dropping the bottle:

"I'm proud that Islington is the greenest place in London, and I would urge all businesses and restaurants in Islington to serve tap water to their customers. I'm also calling on other Councils and the Mayor to ensure that bottled water is not used in public buildings in this city."