At a recent parish assembly, Simon Crowcroft discussed putting a fountain in Halkett Street in a bid to reduce the number of plastic bottles people buy. He added that multiple fountains could be installed across town if the scheme was a success. His comments follow the launch of the States-backed Plastic Free Island campaign, which aims to reduce the use of plastic across the Island.
Mr Crowcroft said the idea for a fountain was a ‘response to calls by locals on social media for the Island to move away from plastic’. However, the question of how it will be paid for – as Halkett Street falls under the responsibility of the parish and not the Infrastructure Department – has yet to be agreed.
He said: ‘The suggestion coincides with the planned refurbishment of Halkett Street, which makes it feel like the obvious place to put one. I have yet to get in touch with DfI and Jersey Water to discuss it.
‘There needs to be a wider discussion on who will pay for it, as it wouldn’t be fair for St Helier residents to have to pay for what will essentially be a public service.’
Helier Smith, chief executive of Jersey Water, said he was due to visit the UK to discuss a new national ‘refill’ scheme which allowed people to refill water bottles for free in tens of thousands of places, including retail stores, coffee shops and local authority buildings.
Mr Smith said: ‘I will be visiting WaterUK to discuss the scheme towards the end of February. Jersey Water can then determine whether the scheme, or something similar, would work in Jersey and how best it might be delivered and who might be involved.’
He also confirmed the current infrastructure in St Helier was suitable to deliver the fountain project, if it received the go ahead, as there were water pipes all over the town centre.
A spokesperson from DfI said: ‘As this is a completely new and unprecedented initiative, this is something we will need to discuss in more detail with the parish.’
