Greens call for an end to bottled water for Kirklees Council meetings

Green Councillors have called for the practice of providing bottled water for certain Council meetings to end.

Councillor Andrew Cooper was at a recent Public Question Time event at Huddersfield Town Hall about the Kirklees Budget where leading Councillors from each of the political groups on the Council were answering questions. Bottled ' Harrogate Spring Water' was provided for speakers at the event.

Councillor Cooper went to the Huddersfield Town Hall kitchen and filled up a jug of water to show how simple the tap water alternative to bottled water was.

"I was astounded that we were being provided with bottled water, which costs the Council money when we can get the same thing from a tap in the Town Hall kitchen just a few yards away for free. Not only is there the financial cost of transporting bottled water but also the cost of getting rid of the glass bottle afterwards. It doesn't make financial or environmental sense. What really annoyed me was the fact we were given single use plastic cups as well when we could have used a reusable glass."

The saving to the Council of getting rid of bottled water will only be small but it will demonstrate that the Council has a culture of thinking carefully about how it spends public money because if we are not wasting it on bottled water then we can use that money on services for local people."

The Greens will include the banning of bottled water in their amendment to the Kirklees Budget that will be decided at the next Full Council meeting on Wednesday February 14th.