London’s mayor Sadiq Khan wants to roll out a new network of water fountains and bottle-refill stations across the capital to help reduce the use of single-use packaging, such as plastic water bottles, the Guardian has learned.
The mayor also wants to experiment with getting businesses to make their tap water available to the public, building on a scheme launched two years ago in Bristol.
A million plastic bottles are bought worldwide every minute, and annual consumption is expected to surpass half a trillion bottles by 2021. A large proportion wind up buried in landfill sites or littering the ocean, with figures revealing that more than half of the plastic bottles bought in 2016 were not collected for recycling.
“The mayor wants to see a reduction in the amount of single-use plastic bottles and cups across the capital and has asked City Hall officers to examine the feasibility of a pilot community water refill scheme, or other interventions,” said a spokesperson for Khan, adding that the mayor has also written to the government to discuss trialling a deposit return scheme in London and would like London’s businesses to make tap water available to the public.
“Sadiq supports boroughs in identifying suitable locations for water fountains and bottle-refill stations during the planning process in new or redeveloped public spaces, such as town centres, shopping malls, parks and squares,” the spokesperson added, pointing to Khan’s blueprint for London, which is open for consultation until March 2018.
“Free drinking-water fountains that can refill water bottles, as well as be drunk from, should be provided in appropriate locations in new or redeveloped public realm,” the report notes, adding that such locations include busy pedestrian areas, parks and squares.
The mayor appears to be joining an incipient movement to challenge the inexorable spread of plastic. Retailers such as Pret a Manger, JD Wetherspoon and even London Zoo have indicated that they want to curb their plastic usage, and last month Jamie Oliver also called for more drinking stations to be installed to provide “a free and greener alternative to sugary drinks”.
In addition, Michael Gove, the environment secretary, has revealed that greater access to drinking fountains across the country is being considered as part of the government’s bid to cut plastic waste.
Enthusiastically rolled out by Victorian philanthropists for public health and temperance reasons, water fountains were once far more abundant than they are today: the current provision around London and England’s metropolitan boroughs shows vast disparities.
Exclusive data gathered by the Guardian reveals that while the borough of Lambeth has 25 drinking fountains around its parks and open spaces, many others, including Sutton, Enfield and Haringey, have none – and no plans to install any.
A similar dearth was found across England’s urban hubs: not one of the councils across Manchester, Merseyside or South Yorkshire – encompassing Sheffield, Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham – reported having any drinking fountains in parks or town centres, with those that had been installed were decommissioned.
And it remains to be seen whether Gove and Khan’s ambitions will be realised. Khan’s predecessor, Boris Johnson, also announced “a new era of public fountains” in 2008, but did not follow through.
“Under the previous mayoralty, several proposals for providing water fountains and water bottle refill stations were explored but there were concerns over high installation costs,” a spokesperson for Khan told the Guardian.
But the Guardian has established that costs are negligible. Documents regarding the installation of a drinking fountain in Shrewsbury Park, Greenwich, suggests it would cost about £6,000.
A spokesperson for Tower Hamlets, which has 11 drinking fountains and is considering installing a further two, said that the decision to install fountains tended to be made when refurbs of parks and playgrounds were being undertaken, and after consultation with the public.
A survey by YouGov and Keep Britain Tidy earlier this year revealed that 70% of individuals questioned agreed that tap water should be more freely available, while 59% said they would be more likely to reuse a water bottle if they could easily fill it in shops, parks and other locations.
Paul O’Connell, a trustee of the Drinking Fountain Association that was set up in 1859, said that while budget cuts appeared to be behind the decommissioning of existing fountains by councils, commercial considerations might also play a role in decisions over whether to install fountains.
He said that, for example, seven years ago, Network Rail admitted that it did not want new drinking points on its stations, in part because it would undermine retailers.
In a letter to O’Connell, seen by the Guardian and dated February 2010, a transport ministry official noted that Network Rail believed that “installing water fountains would take away the revenue that retailers receive from the sale of bottled water (and other drinks) and rents that Network Rail receives from retailers is a significant source of revenue”.
When contacted by the Guardian, a Network Rail spokesperson said that water fountains were not, and would not, be installed in stations, but refused to give a rationale. “Water fountains are not a facility we currently have in stations and there are currently no plans to do so,” the spokesperson said.
While O’Connell said he welcomed the plans from the London mayor, he warned that promises to boost the number of water fountains had been made before, to little effect. “Obviously, we have been here before,” he said.
But, he added, the approach could bring many benefits if installed in the right locations, from aiding public health, to saving money and helping the environment.
“There is a lot of waste caused by single-use plastic and it’s a basic human need to have drinking water,” he said.
