Refill Cymru

“Plastic pollution is threatening the health of our oceans and is making climate change worse. We know plastics and climate change are interconnected. By 2050, it’s estimated that annual emissions from plastics could grow to more than 2.75 billion metric tons of CO2e. This would eat up 10–13 percent of the entire remaining carbon budget. Every year around the world we create more than 300 million tonnes of plastic – and half of this is single-use use. One of the worst offenders are plastic bottles, with a million of them sold every minute around the world–a figure that’s expected to grow by 20% by 2021. The Welsh Government has supported Refill Cymru, a City to Sea campaign, that stops the need to buy pointless plastic water bottles for the last three years. Welsh Government should establish a deposit return scheme for drinks containers including PET plastic bottles by 1 July 2022, with a 90% collection target by 2025 as the Scottish Government are currently putting in place. As our Refill Cymru partnership continues to grow, we believe water drinking fountains should become compulsory instalments in new build locations where there are planned play parks and social green areas, as well as in sports and recreation grounds and transport hubs. Refill Stations should also become mandatory at marathons and festivals, building on the success of the Refill Stations at Cardiff Half Marathon and at the Royal Welsh Show ground. The Welsh Government need to continue to ensure prevention and reuse is prioritised, to avoid businesses simply switching from one problematic material to another. This could be an opportunity for Wales to develop clear guidance on the waste hierarchy and what this means in practice for businesses. This is something desperately needed across the devolved nations. Refill Cymru is committed to working with communities across Wales to provide ‘everyday activists’ with a simple & sustainable way to create lasting change in their local communities.”