Join #RefillDorset

Join the Refill revolution here in Dorset

We’ve teamed up with City to Sea to bring Dorset into the Refill Britain family. The Refill Britain project seeks to reduce the number of single-use plastic bottles which end up littering our parks and open spaces, our beaches and sea, by simply encouraging everyone to use refillable bottles instead. We’re looking for businesses to join the scheme. It’s free, and we’ll even give you free promotion.

All you need to do is agree to offer your customers free tapwater refills, and pop a sticker in your window to show it’s OK to ask. Want to join in?

Litter Free Business Award

Introducing our Business Award Scheme

Litter Free Coast and Sea has created this free award for all types of businesses along the Dorset and East Devon coast. We know how important clean beaches with high bathing water quality are to the local communities, tourism and the environment. That’s why by making simple changes, business can support and help create cleaner seas.

It’s Simple…

The checklist will take around 15-20 mins to complete. The options are straightforward and you may already have some of the features in place. By following the steps below or on the award pack you will receive an award, display material and be promoted to the public, Litter Free Coast and Sea members and our partners through a dedicated section on our website, e-newsletter and social media.

How it Works

Using the checklist, we’ve provided suggested actions for businesses to implement. Once you have decided on which options you would like to go for, someone from the Litter Free Coast and Sea team will assess the changes. Some of the items include checking pipes and appliances for misconnections so that waste water is directed to sewage treatment and doesn’t end up going straight into our rivers and seas, installing fat traps in kitchen sinks or providing more bins for customers.

Who Can Join

It doesn’t matter if you are a business on the coast or further inland, you can still make a valuable difference to improving bathing water quality. We developed the award so that any business can join and get awarded. Whether you are a cafe, restaurant or bar, bed and breakfast, hotel, holiday park, campsite, beach rental/hire, visitor centre, shop or office, they can all play a part in reducing beach litter an pollution.

Let’s get started!

Download the application form, fill it in on your computer and email the finished copy to us at litterfreecoastsea@dorsetcc.gov.uk.

BUSINESS AWARD APPLICATION

start downloading!

KIDS ACTIVITY SHEET

WHAT NOT TO FLUSH STICKER

TAKE AWAY EXAMPLE POSTER

ONLY RAIN DOWN THE DRAIN POSTER

Plastics Surgery

Help cut single-use plastic in Dorset

We want to help local businesses to move away from single-use plastic and change to more sustainable options that is cost effective for them and helps with the litter issue at the beaches. We use the Waste Hierarchy as our guide, with the best first approach to REDUCE any excess or unnecessary packaging, followed by the REUSE of containers by encouraging customers to bring their own and/or provide reusable options. The last option is to resort to using single-use packaging that can be RECYCLED/COMPOSTED.

We ran 3 Plastic Surgery events at West Bay, Bournemouth and Weymouth in February 2018, where local food outlets and kiosks were provided with information and support to switch to changing changing their food and drink packaging. They also had the opportunity to meet and talk to eco-friendly and sustainable packaging suppliers, along with listening to other local businesses who have already started their journey to reduce the amount of waste they produce.

We would now like to share what we have learnt with you, so that you can make the change and reduce the amount of single-use plastic you use. We are not experts but we hope that with our research and information you can make an informed decision on what you do next.

To visit our resources page with case studies, tips, information and next steps, CLICK HERE

Eco Champion of the Year Award

Dorset magazine is excited to launch this new award together with Litter Free Coast & Sea and Litter Free Dorset.

For this award we are looking for a local Food or Drink related business, who go the extra mile for the environment. This year’s eco award is focusing on things businesses are doing to reduce plastic and single use item consumption, litter prevention and things businesses are doing to help prevent bathing water pollution. Perhaps they go above and beyond to encourage customers to reduce or recycle their waste; for example by stopping the use of straws or offering incentives to customers to have their takeaway coffee served in their own reusable cup. Perhaps they run clean up events or perhaps they have recently installed a fat trap. Is the business involved in any local community environmental projects or any other inspiring initiatives? It is these businesses that we want to hear about.

For more information or to enter the award, CLICK HERE

Join #RefillDorset

What Businesses Have
Said About the Award

“We love where we live and work and anything that keeps our coast clean and safe is worth doing. We think we’re quite environmentally aware but keen to see if there’s anything else we can do. We also think that it’s a really positive message to give to our customers.”