UK retailer Morrisons is offering free water refills at all its petrol forecourts, as well as in-store. This is to encourage customers and motorists to make the switch from single-use plastic to refillable bottles.
According to the retailer, over 14 billion single-use plastic bottles are used each year in the UK – equal to 39 million a day – with the majority purchased on the go or at work.
However, new research, says Morrisons, has found that 63% of people would like to do more to reduce plastic. The biggest barrier to taking action, though, is a lack of plastic free alternatives.
At Morrisons petrol forecourt kiosks, customers will now be able to hand their reusable bottles to attendants who will fill them up for free, before sanitising them and returning them to the customer. The service will be available at all of Morrisons 338 filling stations.
The move comes after a 12-week trial in August 2020. 18% fewer single-use water bottles were sold, in comparison to the same period the previous year.
Morrisons has already installed over 300 stand-alone water fountains in the food-to-go sections of its stores for customers to fill their bottles on the go. It also claims to be one of the first to offer water refills in all of its cafe stores nationwide in 2018.
“When we listen to customers, it’s clear they want us to help them reduce the amount of single-use plastic they throw away,” says Morrisons Sustainability Manager Natasha Cook.
“We know that customers often pick up a bottle of water when paying for petrol, so offering free water should be an effective way of reducing these single-use plastic bottles.”
