You can now refill your water bottle while out shopping – a good thing for both your plastic footprint and your purse. Shopping destinations such as Bluewater, Trinity Leeds, Gunwharf Guys and Westgate Oxford have launched a refill initative, encouraging customers to fill up their bottles in stores and restaurants.
And the best part is, you don’t even need to have bought anything in the shop to qualify for the sustainable perk. You are able to walk into stores such as Lakeland and Lush, as well as Costa, Caffe Nero, Pret A Manger and Krispy Kreme to refill. There will be stickers in the windows of participating shops to indicate to shoppers that there is a free refill point inside.
The ‘Refill Me’ scheme, run by property developer Landsec, will start in 12 of the company’s 16 shopping centres, but is due to be rolled out across the rest of its shopping centres, outlet malls and leisure parks by 2020. Brighton Marina, Bath’s Kingsmead Centre and Fountain Park in Edinburgh are among sites set to receive the stickers.
“Single-use plastic is one of the biggest challenges facing our planet,” Tom Byrne, sustainability manager at Landsec, said. “Like other refill campaigns, we’re determined to play our part in ensuring that we drive change in the behaviours of shoppers and retailers.”
The recent focus on the impact (and scope) of plastic pollution across the globe has caused an increase in awareness of the benefits of refilling your bottle while out and about. This year, plans have been announced for water fountains to be rolled out across various UK city centres and train stations and an app (named Refill) that locates businesses that will refill your bottle for free has also been launched.