The Burnham and Highbridge Plastic Group has today launched “Refill Burnham and Highbridge” joining hundreds of Refill Schemes across the world to help turn the tide on plastic pollution.
By signing up local businesses including cafes, restaurants, pubs, shops and zero waste stores as ‘Refill Stations’ the group hopes to encourage shoppers away from products wrapped in single-use plastic and towards reusable containers instead. At its most simple this is showing people where they can refill their water bottles for free instead of buying single-use alternatives.
Helping people live with less plastic, the award-winning Refill campaign connects people to places they can eat, drink and shop without the pointless packaging. So, the people of Burnham and Highbridge can now download the free Refill app and tap into a network of places to reduce, reuse and refill in their local area. From a coffee on your commute, to drinking water on the go, or even shopping with less plastic, Refill puts the power to go packaging free at your fingertips.
Packaging from take-away food and drinks is a major threat in the fight against plastic pollution and items like coffee cups and take-away containers are consistently in the top 10 items found on beaches around the world. A global report revealed that food wrappers are now the most found item on beaches around the world overtaking cigarettes for the first time1. An estimated 1,290 tonnes of plastic could be prevented from entering the environment each year through the use of reusable food containers when purchasing takeaway food2.
Refill was started by City to Sea, an award-winning not-for-profit organisation campaigning to stop plastic pollution at source. Refill started life as a campaign connecting people to free drinking water to tackle the problem of single-use plastic bottles but has now grown into a global movement with hundreds of Refill Schemes across the world from London to Latin America. The campaign has now expanded beyond drinking water and Refill is now the world’s first app to help people find locations to reuse and refill.
Cllr Lesley Millard from Burnham and Highbridge Plastic Group who is launching Refill Burnham and Highbridge explains why both businesses and their customers should get involved: “Here in Burnham and Highbridge we’re rightly proud of the area’s stunning beaches. Plastics, including single-use plastic bottles, coffee cups and food packaging are now the most frequently found type of litter on UK beaches and you don’t have to look far to find them littering our towns and green spaces too.”
Shelley Bamsey added, “Refill Burnham and Highbridge gives us all the opportunity to help make this type of litter a thing of the past at the same time as saving money. It’s good business sense as well, as customers view businesses that provide free water refills more favourably and are more likely to return to them to make future purchases.”
Gavin Holman from Brit Chips in Burnham on Sea is one of the local businesses in Burnham and Highbridge signed up as a Refill Station on the app. “As a Plastic Free Champion from 2019, I want to continue to work to prevent single use plastic in our towns.’
Refill Burnham and Highbridge builds on the success of the global Refill movement, which now boasts a network of over 280,000 Refill Stations across the world. With almost 400,000 app downloads and over 100 million pieces of plastic avoided every year, the Refill campaign has the power to create a wave of change and stop plastic pollution at source.
Natalie Fee, founder of City to Sea, the organisation which is the driving force behind Refill said: “We’re on a mission to make living with less plastic easier and we want to see a world where everyone can choose to reuse wherever they shop, eat and drink. We’ve already proven that Refill has the power to create a wave of change needed to keep plastic bottles out of our ocean. But we knew the problem was much bigger than plastic bottles! So, we launched the world’s first dedicated app to help people find locations to reuse and refill, putting the power to stop plastic pollution at your fingertips and helping you live without the pointless packaging.”
It’s never been easier for the people of Burnham and Highbridge to be part of the Refill Revolution. Just download the free Refill app and use it to find nearby places to refill water, coffee, lunch, groceries, toiletries and more. Remember to carry your reusables and take them in to refill. It’s that simple!
For any local businesses wanting to get involved, contact Cllr Lesley Millard by email on cllr.lesley.millard@burnham-highbridge-tc.gov.uk or contact the Council Office on 01278 788088.
You can also add your business on the app yourself for free.