Refill and reuse, says water firm
But bottle giant untroubled
Thirsty people from Perth and Kinross are being asked by Scottish Water to make the switch to reusable bottles in a bid to tackle plastic waste.
But prominent locallybased employer Highland Spring says it does not consider the advice will hurt its trade in bottled refreshments.
The nation’s utility firm – which supplies 1.35 billion litres of drinking water every day – has urged its five million customers to opt for the refill route rather than choose to drink water from plastic bottles, which contribute significantly to harm in the environment.
Scottish Water, the fourth largest water and waste water company in the UK, is exploring the possible introduction of water refilling points in public places and working with the food services industry to provide free water to customers who have their own bottle.
The firm’s corporate affairs director Brian Lironi said: “In Scotland, we’re fortunate Highland Spring
to have the most-loved tap water in the UK.
“We deliver more than a billion litres of fresh and clear drinking water around the clock every day to our customers. It’s readily available at tap - the refillable approach makes so much sense in terms of convenience, cost and sustainability.
“We’re absolutely committed as an organisation to helping to maintain sustainable communities.
“Since the Blue Planet series and the issues it raised, we are all more acutely aware of the damage plastic is doing to the natural environment.
“I urge all Scots to get their hands on a refillable water bottle, if they don’t already have one, and fill it from the tap at home, at work or wherever they can.
“Single-use plastic bottles are expensive to produce, use up valuable natural resources to make and transport, and create mountains of waste once they’ve been used and discarded. Around 16 million, half of the number used in the UK in a day, end up in landfill, being burnt, or entering the environment and waterways.”
Hundreds of performers at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections music festival were asked to drink tap water using refillable bottles rather than plastic bottled water.
A spokesperson for Blackford-based Highland Spring said: “Water is the healthiest way to hydrate, so we welcome its availability in all forms, whether tap, still or sparkling.
“All our water is naturally sourced and this is one of the reasons, along with taste, that our customers choose Highland Spring.”