Oswestry water fountains call to cut back on plastics use
Calls are being made to have drinking water points installed in Oswestry for people to refill their bottles and cut down on plastic.
Councillor Olly Rose is calling on Oswestry Town Council to phase out the use of unnecessary, single-use plastics in all council buildings and at meetings and events.
Recently the council has trialled not using bottled water at meetings. She also wants an investigation into the costs of providing drinking fountains, possibly in the town’s park and by the tennis courts.
It comes after a drinking fountain originally installed in 1862 was restored and placed at the site of the old market cross – although not in working order.
Councillor Rose, whose motion will go before councillors on Monday, said: “The Ellen MacArthur Foundation predicts that, if we continue as we are, there will be, by weight, more plastic than fish in the seas by 2050.
"At the moment a third of the fish caught off the British shore contain plastic. It can seem an overwhelming problem but only six months after introducing the 5p plastic bag charge, usage had dropped by 85 per cent.”
Councillor Rose is calling on Oswestry Town Council to investigate the cost of providing drinking fountains in the town to refill water bottles, to support local initiatives working to reduce plastic in the community and to encourage the abandonment of the products among commercial tenants, market traders and vendors at council events.
“There are a number of other UK councils, small and large, pushing forward this agenda, from Aberporth to Norwich and Bradford," she said.
“France is banning all plastic cups, plates and utensils by 2020, could Oswestry be one of these pioneering councils?”
