It's World Refill Day today - and Somerset Council is urging everyone to help cut plastic use, by using the water refill stations in Wellington and Minehead, among other county towns..

Partnering with Wessex Water, Somerset Council have provided free water bottle refill stations in five of the county’s busiest high-streets, saving residents money and avoiding thousands of single-use plastic bottles going to waste.

An estimated 7.7 billion plastic water bottles are used in the UK every year however Somerset’s water refill stations have prevented the need for more than 70,000 single-use plastic bottles.

Last year Somerset recycled an estimated 120 million plastic bottles – recycling is good, but reducing and preventing waste is even better.

Almost half of Brits have said they want to avoid using single-use plastics but find it difficult. The council has made it easier to stay hydrated on-the-go and is encouraging residents to grab a bottle and fill it at one of the free water stations.

Free water bottle refill stations can be found in:

 The council is encouraging everyone to carry a reusable water bottle with them, and to choose to top up with tap water for free at a refill point. And if you’re not near a refill point, download the free ‘Refill’ app from: www.refill.org.uk, where you’ll be directed to participating shops and cafes who will refill your water bottle for free. 

To find out more about Somerset Council and Wessex Water’s re-fill points visit: www.somerset.gov.uk or www.refill.org.uk/refill-somerset/

When you do need to recycle plastic bottles, please put them in your Bright Blue Bag for weekly collection. Squash them and pop the lid back on if you can – it saves space and helps recycling trucks make fewer journeys, speeding up collections and reducing mileage with all the associated carbon costs.

 Plastic bottles can also be taken at Somerset’s 16 recycling sites. 

Somerset Council makes more than 350,000 collections a week and more than 90% of the recycling that is collected stays in the UK.

 To find your local recycling site or download your collection calendar visit: somerset.gov.uk/waste.