Talking to my friend Sarah who has a farmers market food stall that only uses eco-friendly catering vegware (Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall take note!) I mentioned an idea of mine for Stroud shops and market stalls to display a prominent and recognisable sticker/logo to indicate that customers are welcome to bring their own bags and containers for refill. I thought of this because it can be daunting to repeatedly ask at the supermarkets and shops if they would mind putting the meat/cheese/whatever straight into your own containers instead of the shop plastic bags. A sticker or logo outside the shop would not only spread the message but also make a lot of customers loyal to the shop I think. The shop could even sell their own re-useale containers, much like they do with bags-for-life for example.

Just this morning then, my mother who lives in Bristol sent me an article about Refill Bristol, a practical campaign to make Bristol a refillable city: “Filling up your water bottle for free from one of our 200 Refill stations is an everyday thing. The aim is to reduce the amount of plastic bottles and bottle tops ending up in our oceans, whilst keeping you healthy, hydrated and saving you money at the same time! Participating cafes, bars, restaurants, banks, galleries, museums and other businesses display a round, blue sticker in their window, inviting thirsty passers-by to come on in and fill up their bottle – for free. Refill Bristol was a Bristol 2015 European Green Capital project delivered by City to Sea, a local CIC dedicated to stemming the tide of plastic to the oceans” Read more

Hallelujah!