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Refill Lewisham

Free water refills at businesses across the borough. Look for the Refill sticker in the window, walk in, and fill up your bottle. No purchase needed.

Find a refill location Businesses: sign up

What is Refill Lewisham?

Refill Lewisham is a network of businesses across the borough that will fill up your water bottle for free, without you needing to buy anything. Look for the Refill sticker in the window, walk in, ask nicely, and fill up.

It is a small idea, but at borough scale it means fewer single-use plastic bottles bought, fewer thirsty walks, and a small daily reminder that Lewisham businesses are on your side.

  • 150 +
    Refill points across the borough
  • 50,000 +
    plastic bottles saved a year
  • 18
    neighbourhoods covered
  • £ 0
    cost per refill

Find your nearest Refill point

Refill Lewisham is part of the national Refill scheme, so you can find every Refill point in the borough on the Refill app – along with every Refill point across the UK. Free to download, easy to use.

Download the Refill app

Why refill?

Single-use plastic bottles are one of the biggest sources of everyday plastic waste. They are also expensive. A litre of bottled water can cost more than a litre of petrol.

Refill is a way to change the default. Instead of buying a bottle every time you are thirsty, carry a bottle and refill it. Instead of pretending single-use plastic is the only option, know that hundreds of Lewisham businesses will fill you up for free.

Businesses: become a Refill point

If you run a café, shop, community space, or any business with a tap, you can sign up to be a Refill point. It takes minutes. You get a window sticker, a listing on the Refill app, and the visible sign that you back the borough. Costs nothing.

Sign up your business

Businesses: become a Refill point

If you run a café, shop, community space, or any business with a tap, you can sign up to be a Refill point. It takes minutes. You get a window sticker, a listing on the Refill app, and the visible sign that you back the borough. And it costs nothing.

FAQs

  • Refill will bring in passers-by who may be tempted to make purchases and also tell others to visit the business. Plus, this is a huge boost to business environmental credentials and will boost both visibility and perception of local businesses.

  • A litre of water costs just 0.2p. Filling up ten 500ml bottles costs only a penny.

  • Yes, but many people feel shy asking. The stickers invite passers-by into businesses – which could result in a spontaneous purchase.

  • The carbon footprint of bottled water is 500% higher than producing tap water. Some of it is shipped half way across the world! Only 25% of bottles actually get recycled, and not all the materials are recyclable (bottle tops aren’t recycled in the UK for example). That leads to over 800 bottles going into landfill every MINUTE.

  • Lewisham Local and Business in the Community have been asked to be involved in the pilot due to our network of community minded businesses in Lewisham. We are helping co-ordinate volunteer action days and promote the scheme to local businesses.