Sustainability News

Refill Swansea, which will launch on 24-25 November at the Waterfront Museum during the Green Fayre, is part of City to Sea’s award-winning national campaign Refill which is being rolled out across Wales with full support of Welsh Government and water companies Dŵr Cymru and Hafren Dyfrdwy. Hannah Blythyn, Environment Minister says:

"More Refill Stations along our coast will help reduce the number of plastic bottles ending up in the sea, which can have a devastating effect on our marine environment. This is another step towards my ambition of Wales becoming the World's first 'Refill Nation'.”

The Problem With Plastic

According to the Marine Conservation Society, the average adult buys more than three plastic water bottles every week - a startling 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.  As well as helping to tackle this growing issue of single-use plastic pollution, Refill will also substantially increase the availability of high quality drinking water.

The grass roots scheme will encourage people to ditch pointless plastic and make carrying a reusable bottle the norm by providing convenient Refill Stations in venues across the city, including Swansea University’s campuses. A handy Refill app provides the location of all the local Refill Stations.

Becoming a Refill Swansea Station

Local businesses, including cafés, bars, restaurants, banks, galleries, museums and others can get involved with Refill Swansea by signing up and becoming a Refill Station for the community. All they have to do is download the free Refill App, press and hold on the map screen and enter their business details along with a photo. By placing the Refill campaign free tap water sticker in their windows, businesses can demonstrate their commitment to reducing pointless plastic and let passers-by know they’re very welcome to pop in and fill up.

In the week leading up to the Refill Swansea launch, Swansea University will be running on campus events and activities including a series of lectures to promote the scheme to its students, staff and visitors. Keep an eye out for more information on these in due course.

Our Sustainability and Wellbeing Officer and Refill Local Champion Teifion Maddocks explained why both businesses and their customers should get involved with Refill Swansea:

 “Plastics, including single-use plastic bottles, are now the most frequently found type of litter on UK beaches and you don’t have to look far to find them littering our towns and green spaces too. Refill Swansea gives the local and business community the opportunity to help make this type of litter a thing of the past here in our beautiful beachfront city.

“For organisations, joining the scheme makes good business sense too as customers view businesses that provide free water refills more favourably and are more likely to return to them to make future purchases.

 He added:

“Swansea University is a leading sustainable university and we’re delighted to be able to support Refill with our partners in Plastic Free Swansea and the Students’ Union. Our Students’ Union Officers have been really busy supporting the launch of the campaign; we’ve now got at least 30 Refill stations located across our Bay and Singleton Park campuses for the whole community to use!

To find out more about Refill go to www.refill.org.uk.

The new programme is for the whole community and aims to encourage more people in the University and local community to cycle by offering regular led rides which provide a safe environment in which cyclists of all levels can:

• Enjoy cycling with others
• Build their cycling confidence
• Improve their knowledge of road safety

The programme aims to develop a team of enthusiasts who have a passion for cycling and want to share it with others. We now have twenty qualified Ride Leaders at the University made up of staff and students and representing a range of Academic Colleges and Professional Service Units. Our Ride Leaders are now fully qualified to deliver guided bike rides to the University and local community.

The initiative has got off to a fantastic start, with over twenty guided rides already under the Ride Leaders’ belts, and there are many more planned to take place over the coming weeks and months.

Jayne Cornelius, Sustainable Travel Officer and scheme coordinator, said:

 “I’m absolutely delighted to have been able to work with Welsh Cycling to bring this fantastic scheme to the University.

“For me getting our students and staff on their bikes is a top priority. It’s not only important to us from a sustainability perspective, but it’s also great for wellbeing, because it’s good for your physical health, your mental health, your social life and your bank balance!

“This Ride Leadership Programme is another great cycling initiative for the University, offering our staff and students the opportunity to participate in group rides led by keen cyclists"

Jayne added: “Anyone can take part in the group rides and if they don’t have their own bike they can hop on a Santander Cycle. The rides are really inclusive and great fun and we’ll be running lots of them throughout the year. As it’s fast approaching pantomime season, the next ride, ‘Jack and the Beanstalk Ride to the Giant Store’ will take cyclists to visit our friends at the Giant Store (Tredz) to get some bike maintenance advice and the chance to grab some bike accessories at a discounted rate."

To find out more and to book your place on one of our guided rides visit www.letsride.co.uk, or you can get in touch with Jayne directly at J.Cornelius@swansea.ac.uk. 

Swansea University's Biodiversity Officer has secured £4,000 worth of funding from Grow Wild for the development of a post-industrial wildflower garden to be located at the Bay Campus.

Biodiversity Officer Ben Sampson has been working closely with staff and students to develop the new garden at the Bay Campus which will greatly enhance the experience at the campus and improve campus biodiversity.

Planting events involving University students and staff have taken place on site and the gardens are set to open soon with an official launch. Watch this space...

Biodiversity Officer Ben Sampson said:

“This great project will demonstrate the beauty of “weeds”, show how wildflowers can be used to boost the wildlife value of our cities and crucially, connect the Bay Campus with its industrial past. Bees and other pollinators have had a tough time in recent years, but by planting suitable flowers in our gardens we can help to turn this around.”

If you're interested in finding out more or getting involved in this fantastic initiative, get in touch with Ben at Benjamin.Sampson@swansea.ac.uk. 

You can read more about the wildflower garden here.

Find out more about the fantastic work Ben does to improve biodiversity on campus here.