Another four refill stations have been installed at Cardiff Royal Infirmary, The Llandough Centre for Specialist Spinal and Neuro Rehabilitation at UHL and the Breast Centre at University Hospital Llandough, and the Lakeside Wing at University Hospital of Wales, all funded by NHS Charities Together and Cardiff & Vale Health Charity. These water stations will allow patients, visitors and staff to fill up their reusable water bottles for free.
Water refill stations are now available at six locations across Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. Barry Hospital and St David’s Hospital were the first two locations to have the refill stations installed. The Refill Scheme encourages participating outlets to sign up to the free Refill app and put a sticker in their window alerting people to the fact they’re welcome to fill up their bottle for free.
Research shows that the average adult buys more than three plastic water bottles every week which is a staggering 175 bottles every year per person. In total, some 7.7 billion plastic bottles are bought across the UK each year, resulting in substantial amounts of single-use plastic waste ending up in our oceans.
The water station at Barry Hospital, installed in June 2020, has now refilled over 11,000 bottles, even though it was installed during the pandemic when footfall at the hospital had been considerably reduced. Having only been installed eight months ago, the two water stations at St David’s Hospital have already been used to fill up well over 15,000 bottles – incredible!
Local Champion Sue Dickson-Davies from Cardiff & Vale Health Charity who has been the lead on the project to install water stations across Health Board sites, explains more about this project:
“We have received really great feedback from Barry and St David’s Hospitals and requests for similar water machines across the Health Board. Installing these refill stations in key areas is part of an ongoing commitment to reduce the use of single-use plastic bottles, which are now the most frequently found type of litter in our streets, green spaces and beaches.
“These refill stations give us all the opportunity to help make this type of litter a thing of the past at the same time as saving money. Of course these machines also enable our staff and patients to easily keep hydrated throughout the day. Don’t forget to bring your reusable bottle and fill it up!”
Find out more about the work of Cardiff & Vale Heath Charity please visit www.healthcharity.wales
Visit the Refill website www.refill.org.uk to download the free Refill App and find out more about the Refill movement.