Earlier this week we announced Marlow Town Council’s fantastic #sustainablemarlow initiative – read all about that here.
We didn’t have to wait long for the first project to be launched ….. ‘Refill Marlow’ will give Marlovians the chance to take a simple first step towards reducing the amount of single-use plastic in the town.
A tap water refill scheme…
A tap water refill scheme is being introduced in the Marlow area, encouraging participating cafes, bars, restaurants, banks, and other businesses to sign up to the free Refill app. Window stickers will alert passers-by to the fact they’re welcome to fill up their bottle for free.
City to Sea, a not-for-profit organisation launched the 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.
Jocelyn Towns, Leader of Marlow Town Council and Chair of the Council’s Environmental Advisory Group, said: “Following the recent launch of #sustainablemarlow, Marlow Town Council’s new environmental vision, we are delighted to announce Refill Marlow as our next project.
“We know lots of businesses already offer this simple service, but find customers often feel embarrassed or cheeky for asking. By letting people know they can look for Refill stickers or posters and be confident they can refill for free where they find one, Refill Marlow is encouraging more people to take one small step away from relying on single use plastic bottles. It’s a simple concept with a really big potential result.”
Phil Irving, a Marlow-based environmental professional is our local “Refill Marlow Champion”, and he explained why businesses and their customers should get involved: “Here in Marlow we’re rightly proud of the area’s stunning countryside, parks and rivers. Plastics, including single-use plastic bottles, 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.”
Phil added: “Refill Marlow 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.”
Refill Marlow builds on the success of Refill around the UK, which now boasts a network of over 20,000 Refill Stations.
Find out more about Refill Marlow and to volunteer to sign up Refill Stations email refillmarlow@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.