Civil servants buying bottled water

[Parrot of Doom]

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/commons/story/0,,1696

Are people really so stupid as to believe there are any benefits over tap water? And why on earth should we be paying for it? They should buy their own!

Guardian said:

Bottled water Former Labour minister John Spellar has criticised the government's "absurd" policy of spending more than £170,000 a year on bottled water. Several departments have released details of their bottled water costs, showing they are flying in the face of an environment minister's advice that "it is more sustainable" to drink tap water. The costs were released to Mr Spellar in written replies.

[Popzak]

Here where I live there are warnings about drinking from the tap.Filtereing water from the tap is a must or buying Bottled Water.Something wrong if you can see the minerals,I think?It's hard to beleive you have to buy water when 3/4's of the Planet is made up of it.I think we'll soon be paying for the air too.

[wolves_wanderer]

Popzak said:

Here where I live there are warnings about drinking from the tap.Filtereing water from the tap is a must or buying Bottled Water.Something wrong if you can see the minerals,I think?It's hard to beleive you have to buy water when 3/4's of the Planet is made up of it.I think we'll soon be paying for the air too.

Remember Perriair in Spaceballs?

[bga]

I've seen bottled water in meeting rooms when I've visited public sector clients. They have to make some attempt at meeting expectations of delegates from the private sector.

They would do much better than sacking a few of the lazy buggers that permeate the civil service at most levels.

[minicity]

bga said:

I've seen bottled water in meeting rooms when I've visited public sector clients. They have to make some attempt at meeting expectations of delegates from the private sector. They would do much better than sacking a few of the lazy buggers that permeate the civil service at most levels.

I don't know about every Department. But generally speaking Civil Servants are only allowed to order refreshments (tea, coffee, bottled water etc) for meetings that involve non-Civil Servants (private sector in most cases).

[toni896]

Popzak said:

I think we'll soon be paying for the air too.

You already can it's called Oxy Fit 2ltrs Medical Oxygen in a can ! £9.50

[sadako]

I gather this may include the huge bottles you find on top of water coolers, which most offices have.

[simpo two]

It's fun when fashions collide.

Ooh, tap water is dangerous.

Ooh, everything must be sustainable...

[tinman0]

What is wrong with a tap? For flip sake its not that difficult. And water dispensers - whats that all about? I mean - the water is filled up from a tap round the corner into a horrid plastic bottle, some poor bugger then has to lug it to a lorry, lorry emitting dirt and fumes then arrives at office. poor bugger puts it on his back, lugs it up 3 flights of stairs and shoves back on the water dispenser that probably hasn't been cleaned and has germs all over it anyway.

Oh and water dispensers with "coolers" marvellous. So - lets have a fridge in the office canteen - and a water cooler also linked into the mains leccy - so let me gets this straight - two devices to do one job in the name of health? i just wonder how many envirotossers actually have a water dispenser (and cooler) in their office and just how much this adds to the polution they are trying to stop!???

and breathe.

[jacobyte]

Independence Day said:

You don't think they spend $20000.00 on a hammer, $30000.00 on a toilet seat do you?

Hmmm "bottle water" eh?

[bga]

minicity said:

bga said: I've seen bottled water in meeting rooms when I've visited public sector clients. They have to make some attempt at meeting expectations of delegates from the private sector. They would do much better than sacking a few of the lazy buggers that permeate the civil service at most levels. I don't know about every Department. But generally speaking Civil Servants are only allowed to order refreshments (tea, coffee, bottled water etc) for meetings that involve non-Civil Servants (private sector in most cases).

From what I have experienced this may well be the case - I'm not a CS but have worked a fair bit with them over the last 5 years. I have certainly been offered refreshments during the many official meetings I have attended. Extrapolating that makes the budget sound reasonable considering the size of the operation.