Progress made by the water industry in reducing waste from plastic bottles has been praised as it was announced today that the number of refill stations across the UK has hit 20,000.
Water UK said today’s National Refill Day highlights the huge progress made by the sector since the campaign was launched last year, with all the major water companies now supporting it – up from the inaugural three last year.
The campaign has been given a boost by the support of leading high street chains, Greggs, Pret and Sweaty Betty, which have all agreed to provide free drinking water. The Refill initiative is projected to have stopped over 100 million single-use bottles from becoming waste by the end of 2019.
Rae Stewart, director of corporate affairs at trade body Water UK, told Utility Week the past year had seen companies across the sector make meaningful in-roads in engaging with consumers over the damage done by single-use plastic bottles.
Stewart said: “We set out our ambition to have tens of thousands of refill stations across the country and to have hit 20,000 in the first year is a fantastic achievement.
“There has also been a lot of engagement with customers on a local basis and that will continue over the next year and into the future.”
Stewart highlighted research commissioned as part of the campaign which showed the change in attitudes towards single-use plastic among the public. The OnePoll survey showed that three out of four respondents believe society should move towards single-use plastic being socially unacceptable. It also revealed 86% of those polled are worried about the impact of plastic pollution.
Stewart said: “It feels like we have made real headway in promoting this message that in the UK we have very high quality drinking water available for free and there really is no reason to be buying plastic bottles of water. The rising awareness of the damage plastic is doing seems to be really hitting home. There are parallels with the attitudes towards littering, which has now become socially unacceptable but that wasn’t always the case.”
Michael Roberts, Water UK’s chief executive, said: “The water industry is committed to playing its part in reducing the plastic waste which clogs up our drains and blights our rivers and beaches. National Refill Day is an essential part of this commitment and is a great opportunity for people to get involved in the battle against single use plastic.
“This country enjoys some of the best drinking water in the world, and we’ve made it easier than ever for people to make the pledge on National Refill Day to switch to a reusable bottle and fill up for free on the go.”
Natalie Fee, founder of City to Sea, the organisation behind the Refill campaign, said: “It’s been incredible to watch the Refill campaign flourish over the past few years. National Refill Day is something that everyone can get onboard with and has the potential to drastically reduce the amount of unnecessary single-use plastic we use when we’re out and about. People want to help prevent plastic pollution, and Refill puts the power to do that in their hands.”