Biffa, which provides household refuse and recycling collections, street and beach cleansing, and household recycling centre management for Cornwall Council, is backing an initiative to reduce plastic waste.

ReFILL Cornwall, which is co-ordinated by Beachcare, wants people to swap disposable, single-use plastic water bottles for sturdier multi-use bottles that can be refilled time and again.

Local businesses are encouraged to offer free water refills, so helping reduce plastic waste.

It’s estimated that Cornish adults get through around 64 million single-use plastic bottles annually.

Biffa has donated hundreds of multi-use metal bottles to community groups that support the ReFill campaign.

The recipients include #ReFillSaltash and @Par Beach (Friends of Par Beach).

Biffa is also giving bottles to its 480 staff in Cornwall so that they too can help cut down on plastic waste.

This could remove at least 25,000 single-use plastic bottles annually from the waste stream, the firm estimates.

The initiative is supported by MPs including Scott Mann, Conservative MP for North Cornwall.

Deborah Carr, Biffa’s project manager in Cornwall, said: ‘Every day, our collection and cleansing crews see at first hand the problems caused by waste plastic bottles.

‘Many are collected and recycled, but so many more are carelessly discarded and end up littering Cornwall’s land, beaches and seas.

‘I hope our support contributes to the ReFILL Cornwall campaign’s goals, and enables more people to ditch the disposables.’

If you would like to join the ReFill Cornwall campaign or need further information head over to www.facebook.com/refillcornwall or contact: [email protected]