Bridgnorth launches water bottle refill scheme

Several cafes, bars, restaurants and other companies have joined the Refill Bridgnorth initiative, which is aimed at making filling your water bottle as easy, convenient and cheap as possible by introducing water stations in the town.

They have signed up to the free Refill app and put stickers in their windows alerting passers-by to the fact they're welcome to fill up for free.

The scheme is part of the Plastic Free February campaign, spearheaded by action group Sustainable Bridgnorth.

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Kath Norgrove, chairwoman of Sustainable Bridgnorth, said: “Here in Bridgnorth we’re rightly proud of the River Severn. Plastics, including single-use plastic bottles, are getting into the river. These eventually reach the sea, creating the plastic waste highlighted in the Blue Planet programme.

"It also means that there is less plastic waste littering the town which also gives the town greener credentials for its tourism industry. Refill Bridgnorth gives us all the opportunity to help make this type of litter a thing of the past at the same time as saving money.

Co-organiser Councillor Julia Buckley added, “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.”

James Watt, regional coordinator for Refill, said: “Every time we refill a re-useable bottle instead of buying and throwing away a single-use bottle we not only reduce the amount of plastic and fuel being used, we save a bit of money and help clean up our towns and open spaces too. We’re so excited to see the launch of Refill Bridgnorth which will make it easy to look out for the stickers or check the app to find out where you can refill for free.”

The Refill scheme has also been launched in Shrewsbury.

The Refill app can be downloaded for free on Google Play or via the App Store. See refill.org.uk