A NEW water dispenser in Largs Main Street could be the first step in an ambitious drive to make Largs a zero-waste town.

The tap, which is being built outside of Geraldo’s, was the brainchild of former community council chairperson Anne Carson and funded by Scottish Water.

Community Councillor Patricia Perman says she wants to see less plastic being used in Largs and hopes the new tool can help Largs 'go green'.

She said: “The main idea behind the dispenser is to reduce the number of plastic bottles being unnecessarily wasted in the town.

“When we do clean-ups on the beach, we find plastic bottles all the time, so it is clearly a problem in Largs.

“Bottled water is expensive and we have fantastic natural water in the west of Scotland, so hopefully this encourages people to drink more of it.

“It’s another asset for the town alongside the recent instillation of the gym equipment, but the main priority is to benefit the environment.”

Concerns had been raised by residents that the dispenser could become a potential Covid-19 hazard, however Patricia is keen to stress that only bottles should be filled up from the site.

She explained: “There have been concerns over the hygiene aspect and that the tap could be contaminated easily.

“We want to stress that it’s not a drinking fountain and people should only use it to fill up their water bottles.

“Scottish Water will check the filters regularly so bacteria will not be an issue."

The community councillor says the new facility could be the first step in the journey to make Largs a zero-waste town.

She said: “That will be one of the aims going forward.

“We are going to contact some shops and try to get rid of things like plastic spoons and polystyrene boxes in the town.

“It would be great if every business used reusable cups and bamboo spoons, every little bit will help."

Councillor Ian Murdoch has backed the project.

He said: “I want to emphasise that the community council was working on this proposal long before lockdown but it is only now that Scottish Water has had the chance to install it.

“I fully support anything that’s going on help improve the local environment.”