A campaign which began life in Cornwall has attracted the support of water companies and retailers nationwide. 

The ReFill initiative was launched in Bude by resident Deb Rosser with support from BeachCare, a partnership between Keep Britain Tidy and South West Water, in 2014. 

The idea was simple: instead of buying bottled water, people refill reusable bottles with tap water supplied for free by participating cafes, restaurants and other businesses. 

Supported by South West Water, Your Shore Beach Rangers, Clean Cornwall and the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, ReFill Cornwall has set up groups and supplied bottles in Bude, Polzeath, Newquay, Fowey, Looe, St Austell, Falmouth , Helford, Mounts Bay, St Agnes, Porthleven, Portreath and Truro. The county now has almost 200 registered ReFill sites. ReFill Devon was launched in 2016 by Recycle Devon and has 164 ReFill sites in Exeter, Kingsbridge, Plymouth, Totnes and Torquay. 

Soon people will be able to refill for free in tens of thousands of places across England following the announcement of a new national scheme by the water industry.