Louisa DaleyThis year’s Commonwealth Games has saved more than 400,000 plastic bottles due to the installation of water refill stations at each sporting venue.
The Games achieved this by partnering with water suppliers Severn Trent and water cooler company MIW.
Severn Trent stated its ambition was to “encourage people to ditch plastic and add to the sustainable legacy the Games have left behind.”
MIW provided approximately 216 individual water refilling stations for the Games. The company reported it had saved 430,920 plastic bottles had been saved in one week alone.
Prior to the Games, attendees were encouraged by the official Birmingham 2022 website and social media to bring their reusable water bottles to access the free water refill stations.
Ian Burdett, head of sales and operations at MIW, said: “We are passionate about helping people to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics. It’s wonderful to see so many spectators have been motivated to bring their own bottle to refill and actively participate in delivering the most sustainable Commonwealth Games ever.”
In addition to these partnerships, a Refill Birmingham campaign was also promoted by environmental organisation, City to Sea.
The campaign had a similar mission – to reduce single-use plastic bottles at the Games.
The location of the water refill stations was included on its ‘Refill’ app, allowing attendees to find multiple places to refill their reusable water bottles.