Public drinking fountains - 'water' good idea

Drinking fountain

Councillor Neil Butterworth is calling on Gene8, the developers of Rochdale’s new leisure and shopping centre, to install public drinking fountains in the scheme.

Work on building the £100M shops, restaurants and cinema complex starts next month.

Councillor Butterworth, who is chairman of the council’s scrutiny committee, said its part of his drive to reduce the number of throwaway plastic bottles which are causing so much damage to the environment.

He also wants to see drinking fountains, which include taps so people can fill their own water bottles, in the Exchange and Wheatsheaf shopping centres along with the council library and offices at Number One Riverside.

It follows a move by Network Rail to introduce fountains at its mainline stations. Councillor Butterworth is asking Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to also install them in bus and Metrolink stations.

Councillor Butterworth said: “We all need to do our bit to end the environmental damage caused by the millions of plastic bottles thrown away in the UK every day. It takes 450 years for each bottle to decompose.

“There are many recycling schemes being considered, such as a return deposits on bottles. Public drinking fountains will also help reduce the need for them. Less than ten per cent of plastic is recycled and it pollutes our rivers and oceans, causes so much litter and blights our environment. “

Councillor Butterworth is also asking Link4Life to remove vending machines dispensing water bottles from its leisure centres and replace them with drinking fountains.