Campaign to cut plastic takes off

Refill Corsham aims to encourage people to fill up their water bottles for free at businesses signed up to the scheme backed by the town council.

Set up by environmental group Transcoco it encourages participating cafes, pubs, restaurants and other businesses to sign up to the free Refill app and put a sticker in their window alerting passers-by to the fact they’re welcome to fill up their bottle for free.

They launched the scheme at the Taste of Corsham food festival earlier this month with over 20 businesses signed up so far.

Adam Walton from Transcoco said: “Setting up the refill scheme is part of Transcoco’s Plastic Waste Free Corsham campaign, to encourage the community to reduce, reduce and recycle single use plastics.

"Not only will it cut down on the number of single use plastic bottles used but it will also cut down on the amount of litter and make Corsham an even better place to live, work and visit.”

Over in Oare near Pewsey school children have also taken up the idea.

The pupils in Skylark Class at Oare Primary School marked National Refill Day on June 19, by learning about the importance to use reusable water bottles rather than single-use bottles in a bid to cut down on waste.

Headteacher Gudrun Osborn said: “There is a real drive by the whole school to take care of our world and the concept of looking after the environment that lies behind this topic has really captured the children’s imagination.

"The school is serious about ensuring that even our youngest pupils understand the impact they can have and it has been lovely to see how excited they are about making a change.”

She said the class have become Ocean Explorers this term, learning about the impact of plastic waste on sea creatures and what they can do to help change this.

They are working towards installing recycling points around the school; encouraging their parents to reduce the amount of plastic used when shopping and writing to local shops to ask them to install free water refill points.

James Watt of the national campaign group Refill said: “We’re so excited that Corsham is joining the Refill movement and making a real difference by reducing reliance on single-use plastics. Every time we refill a re-usable bottle we save our own money and the planet’s resources, and all those individual refills add up to a huge impact. It’s great to see so many local businesses supporting Refill Corsham by signing up to provide free refills.”

National Refill Day was national awareness day to highlight the problem of plastic bottle waste of the millions plastic bottles thrown away in the UK each year.

Mr Watts said it is estimated that around 7.7 billion plastic water bottles are bought across the UK each year, resulting in substantial amounts of single-use plastic waste ending up in our oceans. If just 1 in 10 Brits refilled just once a week, we’d save around 340 million plastic bottles a year.

City to Sea, a not-for-profit organisation headed by campaigner Natalie Fee, launched the award-winning Refill Campaign in 2015. It’s estimated that the scheme, now being rolled out nationwide with support from Water UK and local water companies, will cut plastic bottle use by tens of millions each year, as well as substantially increasing the availability of high-quality drinking water.

Sent in by Adam Walton (adam@aw-consulting.co.uk 07980817656)

PRESS RELEASE – REFILL CORSHAM Free tap water scheme launched to help cut plastic waste in Corsham Refill Corsham is on a mission to make refilling your water bottle as easy, convenient and cheap as possible, by introducing Refill Stations throughout the town. This exciting Refill Scheme has just been set up in Corsham by the local environmental group Transcoco (Transition Community Corsham) with the support of Corsham Town Council and Corsham Area Board. It encourages participating cafes, pubs, restaurants and other businesses to sign up to the free Refill app and put a sticker in their window alerting passers-by to the fact they’re welcome to fill up their bottle for free. Transcoco will be launching the Scheme at Corsham’s annual Taste of Corsham food festival on 15 June 2019. Over twenty local businesses have so far signed up, so why not download and use the Refill app now or visit our stall at the food festival! It’s estimated that around 7.7 billion plastic water bottles are bought across the UK each year, resulting in substantial amounts of single-use plastic waste ending up in our oceans. If just 1 in 10 Brits refilled just once a week, we’d save around 340 million plastic bottles a year. City to Sea, a not-for-profit organisation headed by campaigner Natalie Fee, launched the award-winning Refill Campaign in 2015. It’s estimated that the scheme, now being rolled out nationwide with support from Water UK and local water companies, will cut plastic bottle use by tens of millions each year, as well as substantially increasing the availability of high-quality drinking water. Local Champion Adam Walton from Transcoco explains why both businesses and their customers should get involved: “Setting up the Refill Scheme is part of Transcoco’s Plastic Waste Free Corsham campaign, to encourage the community to reduce, reduce and recycle single use plastics. Not only will it cut down on the number of single use plastic bottles used but it will also cut down on the amount of litter and make Corsham an even better place to live, work and visit.” Adam added: “Refill Corsham gives us all the opportunity to help make this type of waste 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.” Refill Corsham builds on the success of Refill around the UK, which now boasts a network of over 20,000 Refill Stations. James Watt, Refill Regional Coordinator, says “We’re so excited that Corsham is joining the Refill movement and making a real difference by reducing reliance on single-use plastics. Every time we refill a re-usable bottle we save our own money and the planet’s resources, and all those individual refills add up to a huge impact. It’s great to see so many local businesses supporting Refill Corsham by signing up to provide free refills.” Natalie Fee, founder of City to Sea, the organisation which is the driving force behind the Refill Scheme, said: “We’ve seen a huge appetite for our Refill campaign across the UK. Refill puts the power to stop plastic pollution in people’s hands - it’s a fantastically easy way to reduce your plastic consumption and save money at the same time. Businesses can add themselves to the app too and help create the wave of change needed to keep plastic bottles out of our oceans!” Water UK Chief Executive Michael Roberts: “As an industry with a strong focus on the environment we are passionate about tackling the problems caused by plastic bottles, which clog up rivers and drains, and pollute our seas. By refilling water bottles, we can all help turn this harmful tide of plastic waste. This country has some of the best drinking water in the world and we want everyone to benefit from it. This scheme will do that by making it easier for people to refill their bottles wherever they work, rest, shop or play.” Find out more about Refill Corsham and how you can take part by emailing transitioncorsham@gmail.com. Visit the Refill website at www.refill.org.uk to download the free Refill app and find out more about the Refill movement. Notes to editors · Transcoco is an environmental group which aims to develop local solutions to local sustainability issues, helping to address the global challenges of climate change, waste, litter and pollution. · Refill is one of several campaigns from City to Sea, the not-for-profit organisation running campaigns to prevent marine plastic pollution. · Refill launched in Bristol in 2015, and there are now over 20,000 Refill Stations around the UK registered on the free Refill app which shows you where you can refill your water bottle for free. Web: www.refill.org.uk www.citytosea.org.uk · Twitter: @refill A Press Pack with logos and images is available at http://bit.ly/RefillMediaPack · Water UK is supporting the national roll-out of the Refill Scheme, alongside local water companies, with the aim of having tens of thousands of Refill Stations in every major city and town in England by 2021. · Water UK is a membership organisation which represents and works with the major water and wastewater service providers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Water UK brings people together to create better policies for the future of water. Water UK Communications can be contacted on: 0207 344 1805. Contact details – Transcoco, email transitioncorsham@gmail.com