Kingston University spent nearly £56,000 on water coolers for staff in offices last year, equivalent to more than 18 undergraduate students' yearly tuition fees.   

The figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, showed the University spent £55,888 on water coolers in 2008, £10,340 more than in 2007.

Kingston MP Edward Davey said: "All organisations - from Kingston University to the House of Commons - have got to stop wasting money and damaging the environment when they use water. From bottled water to water coolers, we need to review all our practices. Saving money and the environment surely makes sense."

Tori Haggins, President of KU's environmental group People and Planet, said of the £1,000-plus bottled water cooler weekly budget: "I hope that KU has not simply been swept up in the 'bottled water craze' and that they have considered carefully where all this money is going."

Kingston University plan to carry out a review to assess how many water coolers there are in the University, and will look into ways to reduce their carbon footprint in the future.

Bernadette Vallely, spokesperson for Kingston Save the World Club, author and Kingston Green Radio presenter said in an on-air interview last Friday it may be time to launch a campaign to get rid of water coolers and encourage staff to put tap water in bottles and then a fridge to create that 'cold' temperature that attracts them to coolers.

She said: "The electricity for those machines, add that into the equation and you are probably talking about £70,000. I could phone up the Vice-Chancellor and say, give us £70,000 and I'll save you £70,000 because projects to educate and influence people about the environment are much more important to fund than it is to worry about whether the water for the staff at the University are 'colder than cold' so they can have a refreshing drink."

The majority of the University's water coolers are supplied by Eden Springs, an Israeli water company who claim they are an environmentally responsible partner in the water cooler industry.

Phil Riley, an Eden Springs sales representative, said: "Our cups, bottles that sit on top of the coolers and filters are 100 per cent recyclable. We are looking into applying for government funding to put towards making the actual machines recyclable as well."

Premier Watercoolers, who provide plumbed in water coolers to UK businesses, carried out an analysis last year which found that businesses could reduce their carbon footprint by 68,593 tonnes per year if they switched from bottled water coolers to mains-fed systems, representing a 70 per cent emissions saving.

Phil Langley, Managing Director of Premier Watercoolers, said: "There is no doubt that mains-fed drinking water is more environmentally friendly, but the analysis we have undertaken reveals the scale of carbon emissions from the bottled water industry and the positive environmental impact that the UK plc market could make by getting their water 'on tap', via plumbed in water dispensers."

Last year Premier Watercoolers launched the industry's first ever Carbon Emissions Assessment Scheme, which measures a company's carbon emissions from its existing water coolers across single or multiple sites.

The University’s Sustainability Team will be carrying out a review of the current facilities available to staff and students as part of their Carbon Management Plan, which will look at ways the University can reduce its carbon footprint. This will include calculating the number of water coolers and water fountains currently in use across different departments in the University.

A Kingston University spokesperson said: "As part of our Carbon Management Plan, we hope to add more water fountains and mains-filtered water as an alternative in the long-term.”