brassware & accessories kitchen & bathroom journal february 2019 • 39
WATER SAVING The Unified Water Label could help consumers make better choices, save water and reduce water poverty, says BMA CEO Yvonne Orgill…
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vonne Orgill has called for more support for the Water Label following a story of a disabled mother from Yorkshire who couldn’t afford to pay her water bill, reducing her to limit washing and flushing the toilet, after it had risen by a staggering 35%. Yvonne says, “Water is our most precious commodity, one that everyone should have access to, making this news story particularly distressing but this is not an isolated incident. A report on poverty from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that arrears for water bills are now the most common form of debt for the poorest families. “The industry must take the issue of saving water in the bathroom seriously. How much water we use in the home is becoming a burning issue. With 22% of all the water used in the home down to toilets and 25% from showers, bathrooms are increasingly under the spotlight.” A study by the Energy Saving Trust estimated that we use 840 billion litres of water each year for showers and flush more than 740 litres down the loo, equating to enough water to fill 300,000 Olympic swimming pools.
Yvonne Orgill “If we are too achieve the Government’s ambitious target of reducing water consumption from around 142 litres to only 80 litres per person per day, we must take action and the Water Label is a great place to start,” explains Yvonne. “The label provides valuable information on water and energy usage in a very simple and easy to understand format. We do have support from manufacturers, retailers and merchants that recognise the benefits, but we need more awareness and education so that it becomes standard practice to look for the Water Label and ask for it when it is not used.
“Whilst it is a voluntary scheme, there are currently 12,500 products and 147 brands already using it. We have the opportunity to drive forward real change and to help people like Shirley, to have the water they need in their home.” In recent weeks, it would seem the BMA are one step closer to a Voluntary Agreement for the Unified Water Label (UWL) after a programme for taps and showers was supported by the European Commission department DG Environment and has since circulated details of a Commitment that is required from the industry in order to develop an acceptable Voluntary Agreement for taps and showers. Yvonne adds, “This is a significant advancement for the industry but the real work starts now. Manufacturers must support us over the next two years by registering all relevant tap and shower products and making the UWL visible. A body will be formed to drive this forward so that an independent auditor can assess if 80% of the market using the UWL is achieved. We all recognise that this is a huge task but one the industry is more than capable of achieving.”
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