Got the bottle? Llanelli has!

‘Refill Llanelli‘ is on a mission to make refilling your water bottle as easy, convenient and cheap as possible, by introducing a number of Refill Stations across the Town.

An exciting Refill Scheme will shortly be launched in Llanelli which will encourage participating cafes, bars, restaurants, and other businesses to sign up to the free Refill app and put a sticker in their window alerting passers-by to the fact they’re welcome to fill up their bottle for free.

The average adult buys more than 3 plastic water bottles every week* – a startling 175 bottles every year per person. In total, some 7.7 billion plastic bottles are bought across the UK each year, resulting in substantial amounts of single-use plastic waste ending up in our oceans.

Now being rolled out nationwide with full support of Welsh Government and water company Dŵr Cymru, Refill will substantially increase the availability of high quality drinking water. It has never been easier to swap a single use plastic bottle for a free taste of the rolling Welsh mountains.

Llanelli Town Councillor, Sean Rees and Town Council Leader, Shahana Najmi are helping to launch ‘Refill Llanelli‘ and will be putting forward a Notice of Motion at the full Town Council meeting taking place this Wednesday 4th September.

Councillor Rees said:

“Plastic bottles now make up a third of all plastic pollution in our seas.

“The key aim of Refill is to reduce single-use plastic bottle pollution and promote healthy lifestyles in our communities by improving access to free drinking water on the go.

“Supporting Refill will lead to a number of benefits within our Town which includes reducing plastic pollution at source, investing in our local communities, cutting down on litter, reducing the carbon footprint, encouraging use of local businesses and creating healthier, hydrated communities.

Hannah Osman, Refill Wales Coordinator said:

“We’re so excited that Llanelli is joining the Refill movement and making a real difference by reducing reliance on single-use plastics. Every time we refill a re-usable bottle we save our own money and the planet’s resources, and all those individual refills add up to a huge impact. It will be great to hopefully see so many local businesses supporting ‘Refill Llanelli’ by signing up to provide free refills.”

Natalie Fee, founder of City to Sea, the organisation which is the driving force behind the Refill Scheme, added:

“Refill puts the power to stop plastic pollution in people’s hands – it’s a fantastically easy way to reduce your plastic consumption and save money at the same time. Businesses can add themselves to the app too and help create the wave of change needed to keep plastic bottles out of our oceans!”

If you want to join the campaign or would like further information, you can contact Refill Llanelli by e-mailing RefillLlanelli@gmail.com or on Twitter @RefillLlanelli or Facebook Refill Llanelli.

Visit the Refill website at www.refill.org.uk to download the free Refill app and find out more about the Refill movement.