News / city to sea
Plea for return to reusables as Bristol businesses get set to reopen
“Shocking” scenes of single-use plastics and rubbish piled in Bristol’s parks have prompted a plea for businesses to put reusables back on the menu.
With many cafes, pubs and restaurants reopening outside spaces from Monday, City to Sea has issued guidance on how they can keep customers safe and still protect the planet by operating refill services.
The environmental organisation behind the national Refill campaign has highlighted expert advice that states disposable products are not inherently safer than reusables, which they say can be utilised safely during the pandemic by employing basic hygiene.
is needed now More than ever
The plea comes amid concerns that the trend towards reusables has been set back by the pandemic, which has prompted a rise in takeaways and seen many people switch to disposables.
The plea for a return to reusable comes amid increasing levels of single-use plastics being left in Bristol’s parks – photo by Martin Booth
City to Sea’s marketing and campaigns manager Jo Morley says: “This summer, we need food outlets to make sure they put reusables back on the menu. While some have already started accepting reusable again, others have been slower to get on board and enable their customers to have a choice when it comes to ditching single-use plastic.
“If we want to avoid scenes like we saw last weekend, with our parks covered in mountains of plastic and packaging, we need businesses to be encouraging customers to use reusables and following our simple guidance.”
Jo also urged customers to do their bit, adding: “If you’re heading out to meet friends and family for the first time, we can all take simple steps to keep ourselves and our planet safe. This means picking up your reusable facemask, water bottle or coffee cup and popping them in your bag – ready to refill on the go using the free Refill app.
“Our small actions can have a big impact – if just one in ten Brits refilled a water bottle just once a week around 340million plastic bottles a year would be saved. Before the pandemic, most of us were in the habit of carrying our reusable bottle and we need to make sure we haven’t slipped back to reaching for the single-use plastic.”
Main photo courtesy of City To Sea
Read more: Expansion of Bristol’s award-winning Refill campaign
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