Refill your water bottle for free at these points

There's a great scheme that's really taking off to encourage people to 'refill' their water bottles:

I can quite understand why people feel awkward asking for tap water without making a purchase (British embarrassment over asking for tap water in bars fuels plastic bottle waste – survey, 11 May). Fortunately, the Refill app from refill.org.uk will help direct people to all sorts of lovely businesses who have made clear their commitment to plastic waste reduction. They will refill with no obligation to buy anything. If there are any businesses who would like to join, they can do so within the app, and together we can provide a robust alternative to plastic drinking bottles.

Free water from the bar tap? Get the app | Letters | Environment | The Guardian

It's happening everywhere now:
New campaign against plastic waste | News | The Cornish Times

And here's the place to go to find out:

REFILL IS A NATIONAL, PRACTICAL TAP WATER CAMPAIGN THAT AIMS TO MAKE REFILLING YOUR BOTTLE AS EASY, CONVENIENT AND CHEAP AS POSSIBLE BY INTRODUCING REFILL POINTS ON EVERY STREET.

We know water fountains can be expensive to install and maintain, so now friendly cafes, shops, hotels and businesses are welcoming you in to refill your water bottle – for free! Refill is currently happening around the UK – have a look here to see a list of current Refill schemes!

How does it work? 

Participating cafes, bars, restaurants, banks, galleries, museums and other businesses simply put a sticker in their window – alerting passers-by to the fact they’re welcome to come on in and fill up their bottle – for free! Download the free Refill rewards app to see where you can Refill on the go, or add new places to Refill yourself!

No Refill stations where you live? Start adding them to the map!  

Our free Refill rewards app allows you to add Refill stations to the map. Just press and hold the point on the map you want to add a Refill point and follow the instructions! It’s super simple to populate your local village, town or city with Refill stations so you need never buy a plastic bottle again!

Why carry a bottle with you?

Single-use plastic bottles are expensive to produce, use up valuable natural resources to make and transport and create mountains and mountains of waste once we’ve gulped down the contents. And recycling’s not the answer either, here in the UK an estimated 800 plastic bottles a MINUTE are either ending up in landfill or as litter, which will too often make its way into our waterways and out to sea. Read more about marine plastic pollution here. 

By buying a reusable water bottle you will also save yourself a small fortune and they often pay for themselves within a week going on to save you money with every free Refill from then on!

Who’s behind the campaign?

City to Sea launched Refill Bristol in September 2015 and there are now over 1,600 Refill points around the UK. Our free app shows you where you can refill for free, allows you add Refill stations and even rewards you for your Refills! City to Sea also licence other Refill schemes – find out how you can launch one in your area here!

When City to Sea‘s founder, Natalie Fee, was inspired to do something about the increasing volume of plastic bottles washing up along the banks of the river Avon in Bristol, she turned to her local community to ask their opinion on what should happen. Over a series of public events, it was agreed that the city needed more water fountains and an easily accessible, free network of shops, cafes and restaurants providing free water refills.

It was suggested we look at the community scheme, ReFILL Bude, launched in 2015 by local volunteer Deb Rosser with support from BeachCare / Keep Britain Tidy. They’d developed a successful model which involved selling reusable water bottles to raise funds for the local sea pool. BeachCare generously offered us use of their posters for us to pilot Refill Bristol in 2015.

Remember to wash your bottle

Recent studies have found that many people aren’t washing their reusable bottles as often as they should. You don’t have to get carried away – just remember to wash them now and again. 

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