The North West's secret weapon against drought this summer could be as simple as targeting toilets and taps, says Envirowise at the start of national Water at Work Week (14-18 August 2006).
The programme - which works with businesses to help combat resource wastage - estimates the North West could save £6.3 million in a year*, if every office in the region commits to just four basic steps for cutting water waste.
It is estimated that UK office workers use as much as 35 litres of water every day, 86% of which is a direct result of flushing toilets. The related hand washing can use a further 8 litres per person per day. Nationally, Envirowise aims to stem this water waste to the tune of 310 million litres by challenging businesses to do the following:
- Place a litre bottle of water inside each older toilet cistern in your workplace, immediately reducing the amount of flush water used by 20%
- Consider installing push / spray taps to reduce water used during hand washing by up to 70%
- Log on to the Envirowise water account tool at www.envirowise.gov.uk/wateraccount to calculate your potential cost savings and track water usage on your premises
- Check water systems for leaks by monitoring meter readings regularly - if the level changes unexpectedly there could be a leak which needs rapid attention
Envirowise Regional Manager for the North West, Nick Ward, says: "As national debate continues over a long-term response to UK drought - local businesses could be taking quick action right now to protect themselves against future shortages.
"If every office in the country implements just the first step alone, the equivalent volume of 35 Olympic swimming pools could be preserved. We would urge local companies to dip a toe in the water and find out how much they could save during Envirowise 'Water at Work Week'. With businesses responsible for using a third of all the UK's water, unnecessary waste is no longer something they can afford to ignore."
For further information visit the water section of the Envirowise site, or call the free, confidential Envirowise Advice Line on 0800 585 794.
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Issued on behalf of Envirowise by Harrison Cowley. Media Contacts: Kate Sturley or Lucy Rickett at Harrison Cowley on 0117 929 2311.
Notes to Editors
*About the Calculation
Figure based on a possible daily saving of 34,468 cubic metres of water for all office workers in the region, and an average water cost of 0.79 per cubic metre.
Other Interesting Water Statistics
There are almost 200,000 toilet flushes by office workers in the UK every minute of the working day.
Fitting push taps can save up to half of the water use from normal taps; spray taps can reduce water use by up to 70%.
Over the course of a year, each UK office worker uses almost 7,000 litres of water by flushing the toilet.
By fitting a cistern device to a toilet, water usage is reduced by 6 litres per flush, which is effectively one office worker flush per day.
About Envirowise
Envirowise delivers a valuable programme of confidential advice to UK businesses. This advice enables businesses to improve profitability and reduce environmental impact.
Independent, practical and proven guidance is available through the Envirowise Advice Line. Each solution is driven by the specific needs of individual firms, to genuinely improve their business practices, profitability and competitiveness. Since 1994, Envirowise has helped UK industry save £1 billion.
The Envirowise programme is available to any UK business, completely free of charge. For more information explore the website or call 0800 585 794.