Refill Woking still helping to keep Woking green

Date: 

Monday, 26 September, 2022

Four years after Refill Woking was first launched, the local scheme is still going strong with lots of shops around the borough happy to refill your water bottle and help do something good for the environment.

The Refill Woking scheme is good for your pocket and the planet as it allows visitors to Woking town centre and West Byfleet to refill their empty water bottles for free with tap water at a number of friendly cafés, restaurants, shops and retails outlets.

Over the course of a year, the average person buys around 150 plastic bottles, adding up to an alarming 7.7 billion used in the UK every 12 months. As a result, an extensive amount of single-use plastic waste is ending up in our oceans, where each bottle will stay for hundreds of years before decomposing. Refill Woking enables residents to make a simple choice every day that has a real impact on our environment.

The Refill Scheme is an award winning programme run by national charity City to Sea, a not-for-profit organisation launched by entrepreneur Natalie Fee in 2015. It's estimated that the scheme could cut plastic bottle use by tens of millions each year, as well as substantially increasing the availability of high quality drinking water.

Cllr Rob Leach, Woking Borough Council's Portfolio Holder for Greener Woking, said: "We are really proud to see that that Refill Woking is still seeing so much engagement a few years after its inception. Public awareness is becoming increasingly more concerned about the very real threat that single-use plastics pose to our oceans, so it’s really positive that we can offer such an accessible solution in Woking and West Byfleet to help tackle the issue.

“I’d like to thank the businesses already signed up to Refill Woking and encourage many new establishments to get involved. Being part of the scheme is a great way for your business to have a positive impact on the environment, and participating locations are likely to see an increase in footfall to their premises.”

Visitors to Woking town centre and West Byfleet wanting to refill their water bottle for free should look out for a blue 'Refill Woking' sticker in the window of participating premises. Alternatively, visitors can download the free 'Refill' app to find their nearest refill station by visiting www.refill.org.uk.

View the full list of participating locations

To find out more about Refill Woking, email green@woking.gov.uk.

Could your business support Refill Woking?

If you’d like to register your business as a Refill Woking location, email green@woking.gov.uk to find out more about the scheme.