Water bottle filling station hopes to help tackle single-use plastics

Scottish Water look set to install an outdoor water bottle filling station on Perth High Street in an ongoing bid to tackle the problems of single-use plastics.

Perth and Kinross Council officers have recommended the approval of the new filling station which will be situated in the area outside 169 High Street, across from the entrance to the St John’s Shopping Centre.

The application is part of the water company’s ongoing Your Water, Your Life campaign and has won the support of Perthshire MSP Roseanna Cunningham.

Ms Cunningham, cabinet secretary for environment, climate change and land reform, said: “This is a fantastic campaign which fits in with our work to reduce Scotland’s dependence on single-use plastic and is raising awareness of the health benefits of drinking more tap water, which is excellent in quality and value.

“We would encourage people to make the switch to reusable bottles if they can as it will help protect the environment and can save money.

“This campaign also builds on our commitments to tackle our throwaway culture as we are the first part of the UK to commit to a deposit return scheme.”

This week Montrose became the first town in Tayside to install the state-of-the-art water refill stations as part of the ongoing campaign.

Clive Duncan, of Scottish Water, said: “We’re encouraging everybody to top up from the tap as much as possible and get into the habit of carrying a refillable bottle with them when they leave the house.”

A reusable water point was installed in Edinburgh in October last year.