AS A mum to a four-year-old, I am teaching him about the environment and we are changing our habits to become more environmentally friendly.

This includes reducing our use of single use plastics. We have swapped many of the products we use at home, such as washing powder, hand wash, and fabric conditioner - previously bought in plastic containers - to glass refill versions from the new Heart and Compass shop at Viables.

My son is always on the lookout for loose fruit and vegetables to buy in the supermarkets rather than those wrapped in plastic. We aren’t perfect, but we are learning and changing together.

However, it becomes increasingly difficult to avoid using single use plastics when businesses and organisations fail to provide an alternative.

This was the case when I attended the Legends Festival in Basingstoke last weekend. It was a huge disappointment to discover that Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council had allowed an event to take place on its land which was not environmentally friendly.

The council declared a ‘climate emergency’ in 2019 and has since outlined ambitious plans that will see it become carbon neutral within four years.

In February, when outlining its plan, council leader Ken Rhatigan said: “Everyone can do something, it doesn’t rely on someone doing everything.”

He’s right. However, these are just words if the council fails to facilitate opportunities for residents to be environmentally friendly.

When I attended Legends Festival in War Memorial Park with my family and son, a security guard emptied the contents of my son’s reusable water bottle onto the floor, informing us we were not allowed to take it in.

I assumed there would be somewhere to refill it once inside, but I was wrong.

Instead, festival organisers provided free of charge, small, individual plastic bottles of water for the 5,000 people attending the two-day event, with no option available to refill bottles.

Imagine the number of plastic bottles consumed and thrown away over those two days. Even if everyone who attended only consumed one, that’s 5,000 plastic bottles wasted. And given it was a warm weekend, I would imagine the number was much higher.

To add to this, there were no recycling options available, with all rubbish thrown into individual plastic sacks handed out to everyone attending when entering the festival.

When I questioned whether I could refill our water bottles, I was advised that this was not possible, there was nowhere on site with drinking water available.

When Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council claims it is taking its responsibility to protect the environment seriously, why did it allow this to happen on its land?

I asked the question, keen to hear an explanation. The response I received, however, left me even more infuriated.

Councillor Mark Ruffell, the council’s cabinet member for natural environment and climate improvement told me that one of the terms of agreement to hire council land is that “the council does not promote the use of non-environmentally friendly materials on its land”.

However, he added: “But at present reducing the risk of spreading Covid-19 must also be a priority.”

Baffled as to how refilling water bottles could possibly contribute to the spread of Covid-19, I turned to the organisers of the event for clarification.

This was their response: “Keeping Legends Festival customers hydrated is a top priority and a key part of our licence conditions. Therefore, we always ensure there is a supply of free, easily accessible drinking water on all our festival sites. Our preference is always a standpipe with customers filling their own bottles. It is both environmentally friendly and more cost effective.

“At War Memorial Park, Basingstoke the festival utilised a combination of a standpipe and a drinking water bowser to reduce single use plastic consumption for our backstage crew and catering teams. However due to Covid-19 we have suspended communal drinking stations for this summer season.

“To keep our valued customers safe and in line with government guidance, we have proactively reduced the number of areas on our sites where festival goers congregate and share infrastructure. Bottled water allows festival goers the opportunity to rehydrate quickly, reduces queuing and lowers the chances of Covid 19 transmission on site.”

So, in a nutshell, the organisers thought a standpipe to refill water bottles would result in people congregating. What about the bar? What about the toilets? What about the front of the stage where festival goers were packed together dancing?

To me, this appears to be an excuse rather than explanation. How often would people need to refill a water bottle? Would this really have resulted in people congregating and spreading Covid? I don’t believe it would more so than any of the other areas in the festival such as the bar and toilets, where people formed socially distanced queues.

It seems that Covid is too readily used as an excuse. Surely, there could have been a better alternative which enabled us to enjoy the festival safely while also doing our best for the environment? If not, then the council should not have let it go ahead.

It can’t make ambitious promises about its commitment to the environment if its actions don’t support these. Otherwise, they are just words.