Sustainable Merton, the borough’s leading environmental charity, is excited to announce the launch of Refill Merton, the latest addition to their #PlasticFreeMerton campaign. Sustainable Merton, the borough’s leading environmental charity, is excited to announce the launch of Refill Merton, the latest addition to their #PlasticFreeMerton campaign.

Research shows that despite more people than ever carrying reusable water bottles, over 71% of us feel uncomfortable asking for a refill at restaurants, cafes and bars, if we’re not buying something at the same time.

Plastic bottles now make up one-third of all ocean plastic pollution and there are now over 159 plastic bottles for every mile of beach in the UK. The overall impact on our wildlife is catastrophic, with 100,000 marine mammals and turtles and 1 million seabirds being killed by plastic pollution every year.

Sustainable Merton, the borough’s leading environmental charity, is excited to announce the launch of Refill Merton. This national award-winning scheme by City to Sea, tackles plastic pollution at the source. Through bringing a local Refill chapter to Merton, Sustainable Merton aims to disrupt the social norm of buying bottled water when on-the-go, and make carrying a reusable bottle the new normal.

How does Refill work?

Through the Refill App, you will be able to easily identify friendly local Refill Stations where you can ask for free tap water.

By using the Refill App and saying no to single-use plastic, you are helping to protect our oceans, combating climate change, and saving money all at the same time.

There are currently 28 venues in Wimbledon offering free water refills, with many more joining soon. Download the Refill App for the location of your nearest Refill station.

“Combatting plastic pollution is an issue that is close to the heart of many of our volunteers. If this is something that you are passionate about, consider joining us as a Community Champion. We will help you become an ambassador for sustainability in your community.”

– Rachael Edwards, Community Champions Project Manager and Volunteer Coordinator at Sustainable Merton

Refill Merton will officially be launching on Wednesday 22nd January, 11am-2pm (inside Centre Court Shopping Centre, Wimbledon – outside Lakeland).

Come out to learn more, take a plastic-free pledge, and help Sustainable Merton combat plastic pollution one Refill at a time!

Find out more about the Refill launch event here.