Chesterfield businesses join together to provide refillable water stations to limit plastic use

Businesses in Chesterfield have come together today in honour of World Refill Day to offer refillable drink stations to help residents limit their plastic use.
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There are now more than 10 refillable drink stations in Chesterfield where people can get their own reusable cups refilled with coffee or water as companies such as Steph’s Sustainable Stuff, Monkey Park Community Hub and The Cheese Factor sign up to the Refill app.

The idea behind the scheme is to prevent single use plastics from being used and then thrown away – following a growing awareness about the environmental impact of plastic and the rising popularity of reusable drinks containers.

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Today (Wednesday, June 16) marks World Refill Day held today by environmental activist groups City to Sea and Friends of the Earth.

There are now more than 10 refill stations in Chesterfield.There are now more than 10 refill stations in Chesterfield.
There are now more than 10 refill stations in Chesterfield.

It comes after the charities commissioned a national poll which found that 92% of adults are concerned about plastic pollution and 81% want the government to focus on providing more refillable options in shops and cafes.

The Refill app, launched by City to Sea, connects people to places they can eat, drink and shop without plastic packaging – such as free drinking areas, discounts on hot drinks in resuable cups and zero-waste shops.

Both the environmental groups aimed to preventing plastic pollution are calling on businesses to reinstate policies where customers can bring resuable drink containers instead of accepting take-away cups.

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City to Sea has produced guidance for organisations on how to accept reusable cups, bottles and take-away containers in a ‘Covid safe’ way.

World Refill Day is today (Wednesday, June 16).World Refill Day is today (Wednesday, June 16).
World Refill Day is today (Wednesday, June 16).

Plastic Free Chesterfield Community leader Greg Hewitt explained why the group supports World Refill Day.

He said: “Here in Chesterfield, we might be far away from the sea but that doesn't mean we should do nothing.

"Once plastic gets into our waterways, it's on the way to the sea and it'll also break down into microplastics in which marine life ingest, potentially leading to death.

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"We need to turn off the tap when it comes to single-use plastic and refill and reuse is the solution.”

The Cheese Factor located in Chesterfield Market Hall allows customers to bring their own cups, bottles and containers into the shop to refill.

Business owner Simon Davidson added: “At The Cheese Factor we know that more and more of our customers are demanding for refillable and reusable options.

"We have been working hard to not only meet that demand but to also lead customers that haven’t thought about it yet to make the right decision for them and the planet.

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"People all across Chesterfield are waking up to the tide of single-use plastics and we as a business are doing what we can to tackle that and join campaigns such as this to raise awareness of not just the problem, but also the solutions.”

Plastic Free Chesterfield are also urging residents to download the Refill app and support local businesses by refilling and reusing their own drinks and food containers at nearby refill spots.

Jo Morley, City to Sea’s Head of Campaigns and project lead for Refill commented: “This World Refill Day we have businesses like Steph's Sustainable Stuff, Monkey Park and The Cheese Factor in Chesterfield stepping up and helping their customers avoid single-use plastic and we’d like to see government and big brands do the same.”

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