Paddy Leonard, 16 Jun
The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council is celebrating
World Refill Day by encouraging residents and businesses across the
city and district to ‘Join the Refillution’.
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 have on our
environment and marine life.
Mayor Patricia Logue will be celebrating World Refill Day by embracing
the campaign and encouraging everyone else to do so too.
“What better way to cool down in this beautiful weather than to refill
your reusable water bottle and enjoy a refreshing drink for free! As a
city and district, we must work towards becoming a region that says no
to single-use plastic and move towards a more circular economy. I would
encourage everyone to get into the simple habit of carrying a reusable
water bottle and filling it up throughout the day where they can.
“I would also encourage local businesses across the North West to get
involved and open their doors for people who would like to come in and
re-fill their bottles with tap water. I will be celebrating World
Refill Day by carrying my reusable water bottle and refilling it
throughout the day.”
World Refill Day takes place this week on 16th June and is a global
public awareness campaign to prevent plastic pollution and help people
live with less waste. Mayor Logue went on to praise everyone across the
region who already has adopted this daily habit, in particular the
local schools.
“Small habits like this will only make a huge impact if we all work
together. I would like to say a huge well done to everyone who already
uses a reusable water bottle in their everyday life. They can be very
inexpensive and save you money in the long run.
“Our local schools and colleges have been brilliant in promoting this
great behaviour and encouraging students to re-use their bottles. This
is fantastic as these children will then take this advice home and
encourage their families to get involved too.”
To date, over 250 primary and secondary schools alongside numerous
sports clubs and community groups have signed up to this initiative,
promising to reduce the number of single use plastic water bottles and
encouraging refilling a reusable bottle with tap water. The success of
Refillution has exceeded all expectations, with NI Water having
distributed over 150,000 reusable water bottles across the country to
help prevent plastic pollution.
Angela Halpenny, NI Water’s Head of Environmental Regulation added:
“This ‘World Refill Day’, we are encouraging 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 together to
help reduce plastic waste and protect nature.”
If your school or group would like to join the Refillution
email education@niwater.com
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 Refillution | Join the Refillution - Northern
Ireland Water (niwater.com)
For more details visit www.niwater.com/refillution/