New public drinking fountains have been installed in the villages of Galbally, Kilfinane and Doon in Limerick by the local authority, as part of their efforts to mark National Sustainable Development Goals Week.
Funded under CLÁR, a fourth water fountain will come ‘on stream’ (pun unintended) in Feenagh Town Park in the coming weeks. The devices are contactless, meaning bottles can be filled without the need to touch any part of it with one’s hand or the bottle itself. Furthermore, they mitigate the need for plastic bottles of water.
In an age of reusable bottles, the purchase of single-use plastic bottles of water is ludicrous. While the option is useful in the case of emergencies, with a minimum of planning there is simply no reason to buy plastic bottles of water.
Statistics published by refill.ie state that over 220,000 plastic water bottles are generated each day in Ireland and 69% are not recycled – that’s not including fizzy drinks or other beverages! Two out of three end up in the sea and rivers, a despicable and shameful statistic, but probably unsurprising for any Tidy Towns volunteer.
Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Gerald Mitchell, is welcoming the additional facilities to Limerick’s public drinking water network.
“Drinking water fountains make drinking water freely available to citizens. They increase the opportunity for Limerick citizens and visitors to use a reusable bottle, helping to prevent the use of single use plastic bottles. I am delighted that Limerick City and County Council and the communities in Galbally, Doon, Kilfinane and Feenagh have come together to increase the provision of public drinking water infrastructure in County Limerick with the support of CLÁR funding.”
