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Shock at £86k bill for water
Feb 25 2008 By Gary Marks
BIRMINGHAM council taxpayers forked out a whopping £86,000 for city councillors to swig on bottled water last year.
The astonishing figure has drawn sharp criticism from environmentalists who said the money should have gone to other areas, such as housing.
"That's an absurd amount of money with so many people on housing waiting lists," said Birmingham Green Party secretary Joe Rooney.
"It's many times some families' annual incomes - it's absolutely shocking.
"I'm not saying they should ban bottled water because sometimes it's necessary, but tap or mains-fed coolers should be prioritised."
It is estimated that tap water can cost less than a penny per litre, as opposed to around 80p per litre for bottled water.
However, Birmingham's deputy leader, Councillor Paul Tilsley, defended his authority's expensive thirst - the 11th costliest of all councils in England and Wales.
He said: "As far as possible we try to ensure that the water we use is local, and in glass bottles, so it can be recycled."
The council's spending on water for the 2006/07 financial year was revealed thanks to a Freedom of Information request by the BBC's Panorama show.
Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper said: "Shipping water around in bottles, sometimes over thousands of miles, is mad from an environmental point of view.
"Drinking tap water cuts plastic and glass waste and reduces the size of our carbon footprint."
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