THE Greens will push for drinking fountains at all Wollongong City Council parks, in an effort to reduce the need for single use plastic water bottles.

Greens candidate for Lord Mayor Jess Whittaker said Wollongong needed a new council with bold visions for a sustainable city.

“At the same time we need to tackle the issue of plastics in our environment,” Ms Whittaker said.

“Imagine if our sustainable, green and fun city had drinking fountains where sports players, walkers and everyone else could fill up their own water bottle.

“The single use water bottle industry is the fastest growing food market in the world, and it’s taking a toll on our environment.

Ms Whittaker said groundwater extracted to fill the bottles poses a threat to drinking water supplies globally.

“They add to the pollution created by producing and transporting the bottles, as well as the litter bottles generate which takes up to 1,000 years to degrade,” she said.

“This is a simple plan, more public drinking water fountains, that we can help reduce our reliance on more plastic 

“Often when you ask the Council to install a drinking fountain at a beach or sportsfield, the answer is, ‘No, because there is no dedicated budget for public water’. Staff then have to look for grants and the process is incredibly slow.

Ms Whittaker said as Wollongong’s Lord Mayor she will commit to addressing the lack of accessible drinking fountains in the city with access to water in all parks, playgrounds and beaches.

“This will be followed with a dedicated strategy to prioritize grant applications and budget funding starting with the areas with the most need,” she said.

“As well as bottled water being an environmental concern in its production and afterlife, easy access to drinking water will become increasingly important as our climate warms. With more extreme heat predicted into the future, we should be acting now to make our public spaces more resilient to extreme conditions.” 

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