NI Water’s Refillution campaign celebrates its 4th Birthday!
16 June 2022 15:39
NI Water’s campaign ‘Join the Refillution’ is celebrating its 4th anniversary of combatting single use plastic pollution and the impacts that different varieties of single-use plastics cause on our environment and marine life. Since its launch in May 2019, the campaign has been embraced by our local councils with some installing refill stations and encouraging hundreds of local businesses across their areas to support it.
Angela Halpenny, NI Water’s Head of Environmental Regulation comments, “On National ‘Refill’ Day, we would like everyone to join NI Water’s Refillution’ campaign, to stop buying single use plastic bottles and instead refill a reusable bottle with tap water. The water industry has a strong focus on the environment and NI Water is committed to tackling the problems caused by plastic bottles which block up our drains and pollute our rivers and seas. By switching to a reusable bottle, we can really make a positive contribution to help reduce plastic waste and protect nature.”
The Refillution campaign is aimed at changing everyday behaviours, by encouraging us all to stop buying single use plastic bottles and instead refill a reusable one with tap water.
Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd said: “Congratulations to NI Water and local councils, participating businesses and sports clubs, for working in partnership to make this campaign such a success over the past four years.
“We are very fortunate to have good quality tap water right at our fingertips. Water is a precious resource which is so essential to our health and wellbeing but we need to be responsible. Making the switch to a reusable bottle is such a simple but effective change that we can all easily make. This will help to ensure that we have a healthy planet by reducing our plastic use and carbon footprint for future generations.”
To further mark their commitment to reducing single use plastic bottles, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council have recently installed a number of refill points to encourage more people to refill. Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, Alderman Stephen Ross comments:
“We are proud to be the first Council in Northern Ireland to install the Ecofill Water Refill stations in our marine areas. An inbuilt digital water flow meter analysis of how much water is consumed is showing hundreds of bottles saved in just the first few weeks of installation. Our Council’s aim is to provide environmentally sustainable solutions and get our residents and visitors excited to keep our beautiful scenic areas waste free for all to enjoy, ultimately improving waterways and the marine environment for local people.”
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council have also recently installed water filling stations at Ballygally, Carnfunnock, Portmuck and Blackhead Path.
Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Alderman Noel Williams, said: “Council is pleased to be supporting NI Water’s Refillution campaign, taking the Refill message right across the Borough. Council became members of the Responsible Plastic Management programme in 2022 and have been committed to raise awareness, reduce unnecessary plastic use, increase reuse and recycling and to help reduce waste plastic entering the oceans and environment. Council staff are also encouraged to ditch single use plastic bottles and to switch to a reusable one that can be filled from the tap, this is something I would also encourage local businesses, schools and communities to do.”
Since the ‘Join the Refillution’ campaign was launched, our schools have shown great enthusiasm in supporting the fight against single use plastics. Thousands of primary and secondary school pupils have changed habits, taking NI Water’s ‘Plastic Promise Pledge’ to; Always Refill from the tap; Always use a reusable bottle; and to Carry a reusable bottle with you.
To date, over 200 primary and secondary schools have signed up to this initiative, promising to reduce the number of single use plastic water bottles and encourage all their pupils to refill a reusable bottle with tap water. The success of Refillution has exceeded all expectations, with NI Water having distributed over 100,000 reusable water bottles to pupils across the country to help schools with their plastic free quest.
To celebrate the fourth anniversary of Refillution, NI Water’s Education team are creating a new refillution video for schools to accompany talks and refill packs ready for schools when they return for the new school term; with the aim of every school community to continue to reduce plastic waste and refill a reusable bottle every day. The pack will also include a pledge page with useful hints and tips on how to continue the Refillution.
If your school would like to become a refill school contact education@niwater.com to sign up.
Following the Covid 19 pandemic, NI Water’s Education Team have extended their outreach to deliver talks about the Refillution campaign to Sports Clubs and Running Groups as well as to the ‘Leave No Trace Group’ and the Health and Wellbeing Team at the PSNI.
If you are a business and would like to support the Refillution campaign, contact your local council to register your interest. For more information, visit https://www.niwater.com/refillution-map/
Get involved and follow us on social media @JoinRefillution @niwnews.
For more details visit https://www.niwater.com/refillution/
ENDS
For further information please contact NI Water press office press.office@niwater.com
Photo Caption: L-R NI Water’s Education Officer Pat McAuley and Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Alderman Stephen Ross at the water refill station in Jordanstown at Loughshore Park.