Refill Refreshed…we are expanding!

1st October 2020

We are encouraging shoppers in Swindon to say goodbye to pointless packaging, as the award-winning Refill campaign expands.

A picture of a whale with the gut shown to contain plastic.  Reads, 'Connecting our actions to our oceans.  Join our award winning campaign and help us stop plastic pollution at source.'
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The Refill campaign has already saved 100 million pieces of plastic from our oceans. It is now launching the world’s first dedicated app to help people find locations to reuse and refill.

Someone cooking over a pan, spooning food into a reusable food container
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Refill will always be a water refill campaign, but the issue is much bigger than bottled water. Take-away packaging is consistently in the top 10 most commonly found items on beaches and rivers around the world. In 2019 research revealed that 75% of the British public bought their lunch on-the-go each day generating a mind-blowing 11 billion items of packaging waste a year – that’s a whopping 276 items per person every year!

Refill will now help people in Swindon live with less plastic by making it easier to eat, drink and shop packaging-free. From today (1st October 2020) anyone can download the free Refill app to tap into a global network of places to reduce, reuse and refill. 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.

'Reduce, reuse, refill, repeat'
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LUSH, Costa, Pizza Go Go and local business including The Beehive, Swindon Pulse Wholefoods, Ray’s Ice cream, Baristocats and Gustoso Coffee Bar are amongst those already signed up to the campaign in Swindon.

The launch of the expanded Refill campaign comes at a critical time for our planet following a tidal wave of single-use plastic in the wake of the global pandemic. It marks a game-changing moment that paves the way for much needed action on plastic in the hospitality and retail sectors.

A reusable cup has milk poured into it
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The pandemic has seen many cafes and retailers temporarily stop the use of reusables and increase the use of single-use plastic, despite more than a hundred health experts stating reusables are perfectly safe to use. 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 food.

We know that public still care about plastic pollution and want to act. City to Sea's research has shown 93% of the British public are still worried about plastic pollution, more than half say they are actively trying to buy groceries that are not sold in plastic packaging, and 75% are willing to use refill services.

Businesses can sign up as a Refill Station by registering for free on the app or by contacting us

Download the free app to find out where to refill, or use our online list for local stations.