Clarification: In January 2019 (or slightly earlier), London Underground station staff (cannot clarify if it is all stations) were issued with plastic water bottles when the paper/plastic cups for water dispensers were phased out (presumably for cost savings). These water bottles had Underground branding on them. My questions are: 1) How many of these water bottles were produced (and if not complete, how many remain?) 2) What was the total cost of these bottles? 3) What was the cost per water bottle? 4) Was any testing done when the decision was made to make these bottles out of a type of plastic (PET 1) which is only designed for single use? 5) What is the cost saving for no longer having plastic/paper disposable cups?

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TfL Ref: 2921-1819

Thank you for your emails received by us on 1 and 7 February 2019 asking for information about station staff water bottles.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require.

These water bottles are part of a trial which is running from December 2018 to May 2019. We ordered 900 bottles for the Jubilee line, and 200 more are on order for the Special Requirements Team. The bottles cost £3.02 per item plus VAT, making the overall cost for the Jubilee line around £3500. Previously, 1000 cups were sent out per station per month, equivalent to £20 per station per month. On the Jubilee line alone, the water bottle trial should reduce our single-use plastic cup consumption by 240,000 units per year. Paper cups will still be provided for visitors, contractors and customers who are unwell.

Prior to ordering the bottles, a detailed discussion was held with the supplier and research was conducted by our affordability working group. The supplier is an approved TfL supplier and products used previously had been well-received by colleagues. The bottles for the Jubilee line trial are made of PET-1 plastic, which is legally certified for re-use by the British Food Standards Agency, and are reusable. For the SRT element of the trial, PET-5 plastic is being used to compare the feasibility of both types of plastic.

The results of this trial will be assessed in May 2019.  If the trial is deemed a success and the bottles are introduced more widely across the network, then staff would be able to order one water bottle every two years as part of their uniform allocation.

If this is not the information you are looking for, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Sara Thomas

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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