Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       Committee is asked to consider a request from Northern Ireland Water for the Council to engage with them in relation to the Northern Ireland Water Refillution Campaign.

1.2       Committee is also asked to note the update re the Notice of Motion, raised by Councillor McMullan and seconded by Councillor McReyonlds in regards to examining the feasibility of installing Water refill points across the Council Estate. 

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       Committee is asked to;

                                           (i)          Consider the request from Northern Ireland Water and to approve that officers engage with them in relation to Belfast City Council participating in this scheme.

                                         (ii)          Note that a recommendation to add ‘Installation of Water Refill Points in Council Assets’ as a Stage 1 – Emerging Project onto the Capital Programme is  contained within the Physical Programme Update report which is also on the agenda for consideration by Members today at Item 6

3.0       Main report

3.1       REFILLOUTION CAMPAIGN

            Members are advised of a request from Northern Ireland Water in relation to the ‘Refilloution’ Campaign.  This request compliments previous discussions on water refill points and would encourage members of the public to refill a reusable bottle with tap water rather that buy single use plastics. 

3.2       Over the last year, Northern Ireland Water has engaged with Northern Ireland Councils, including Belfast City Council, to partner with them on helping reduce plastic pollution.  Northern Ireland Water launched its ‘Refillution,’ Campaign on 19th June to coincide with a National Day of Action.

3.3       The ‘Refillution’ Campaign is aimed at encouraging people to refill a reusable bottle with tap water and buy less single use plastic bottles.

3.4       Ards and North Down Borough Council became the first Council area to partner with Northern Ireland Water in May 2019.  A number of businesses in the Borough, around 70, have signed up to ‘Refillution’ where the public can refill their reusable water bottles for free, from shops or cafés that are supporting the campaign. 

3.5       Northern Ireland Water provides the business with a number of window stickers, posters and bottles as part of a ‘Toolkit.’  There are also opportunities for joint press and shared articles in the Council Magazine.

3.6       Eight of the other Councils also supported the NI Water launch on 19th June.  Northern Ireland Water have requested that the Belfast City Council meet with them to look at how this scheme can be introduced into the City.

3.7       WATER REFILL STATIONS

3.8       Members will recall the notice of motion brought forward by Cllr McMullan, seconded by Cllr McReynolds at the August meeting of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee:

3.9      “This Council recognises the over reliance on single use plastic water bottles.  It notes innovative solutions to tackle this issue and support sustainable living, for example, the water refill stations recently installed by Mayo County Council.

            The Council agrees to the installation of water bottle refill stations across the Council Estate.  This aims to help encourage a growing culture of using personal, reusable bottles to tackle single-use plastic use.

            The motion had, in accordance with Standing Order 13(f), been referred without discussion to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee.

            Councillor McMullan had referred to the facility within Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park as being an excellent example of a water refill point and requested that other potential Council locations and models be identified and costings provided”.

            In furtherance of the above NOM, given the infrastructure and asset implications the proposal would need to be taken through Council’s agreed physical programme development process, and added as a Stage 1 Emerging project on the Capital Programme, in order to be worked up further. Members are asked to note that this is on the Physical Programme report for consideration by Members at today’s meeting. 

3.10      Financial & Human Resource Implications

            If Members wish to see additional drinking fountains / units across the Council estate then this would need to be considered as part of the emerging list within the capital programme (see Physical Programmes update report, Item 6). 

3.11      Asset and Other Implications

            There are no known implications.

3.12      Equality, Good Relations or Rural Needs Implications

            There are no known implications.”

            Councillor McMullan, who had submitted the motion, requested that the Committee agree to support the recommendations contained in the report.  He also requested that the Committee consider introducing a water refill pilot scheme at two locations, in the grounds of the City Hall and at St. George’s Market, that the existing water refill points be added to the City refill scheme, to the installation and appropriate signage to provide awareness of the refill points and to the Committee undertaking a marketing campaign to promote the refillution scheme with business and residents.

            After discussion, the Committee:

·        considered the request from Northern Ireland Water and approved that officers engage with them in relation to Belfast City Council participating in this scheme;

·        noted that a recommendation to add ‘Installation of Water Refill Points in Council Assets’ as a Stage 1 – Emerging Project onto the Capital Programme was  contained within the Physical Programme Update report which was also on the agenda for consideration by Members later in the meeting; and

·        agreed to the submission of a further report which would consider:

a.      the introduction of a water refill pilot scheme at 2 locations, that is, the City Hall grounds and St. George’s Market;

b.      that all existing water refill points be added to the City refill scheme and, should Belfast join the NI Water Refillution campaign, they be added to that as well;

c.      the installation of appropriate signage to provide awareness of the refill points; and

d.      a marketing campaign to promote the refillution scheme with businesses and residents.