I read David Burrows’ recent article – ‘The refill pot is empty’ – with interest and, if I’m honest, have some sympathy for the frustration behind it.
At City to Sea we’ve been campaigning for refill and reuse for nearly a decade, so we know this journey is long and can include false starts. But despite the real challenges, I believe we’re further forward than David gives us credit for, and now is exactly the time to step up, not give up.
Yes, the road to a reuse revolution is strewn with setbacks. Voluntary trials fade. Retailer engagement fluctuates. And public enthusiasm is too often left unsupported by the infrastructure and leadership it deserves.
But let’s not confuse complexity with failure.
The transition is not just a cultural shift away from single-use – it is a deep systemic one filled with challenges. As we in this industry know, it affects supply chains, packaging formats, cost models, operations, and customer expectations. Of course it’s hard!
But we’re not stuck. We’re moving, and behaviours are changing.
Our research shows that in 2018 48% of us carried a water bottle most of the time – this had nearly doubled by 2024 to 80%. And it’s the same for reusable cups, which scale from 35% to 58% carrying one in everyday life. This is people, daily, doing what they can with the tools available to them and is undoubtedly saving plastic single-use waste.
The good news is the tools are expanding. For example, through our Refill Return app, we’ve built a national network of accessible reuse and refill options. Today, the app connects users to more than 330,000 refill stations worldwide, with over 35,000 in the UK, including about 3,500 zero-waste shops.
It helps people find places to refill water bottles, use their own containers for takeaway food or drinks, or shop packaging-free. And now it even features refillable products you can order online – like deodorant, toothpaste and cleaning products – bringing reuse right to your doorstep.
That’s not failure. It is building opportunity and infrastructure in real time.
What’s missing, and where David is right to vent frustration, is the policy follow-through to match the willingness and growing demand. Just the UK’s landfill crisis alone shows us what happens when we don’t shift upstream fast enough. Landfill capacity is running out, and incineration rates are climbing. We’re failing to meet our recycling targets, and packaging waste continues to rise.
So, in this context, reuse is not a ‘nice to have’, it’s proving to be one of the few legitimate, scalable options too reduce waste at source and ease pressure across the system.
Internationally, the UN Global Plastics Treaty, now under negotiation, could set binding targets that finally make reduction, not just recycling, the priority – and we need the UK to take a leadership role here. Similarly, a well-designed deposit return scheme (DRS) has the potential to shift habits dramatically, and there’s encouraging movement on this front across the UK’s nations.
But unless reuse and refill are central to the delivery of these schemes, not just a footnote, we will miss a historic opportunity.
At City to Sea, we’ve learned this work is like a jigsaw. You need public demand, business readiness, and regulatory support to slot together. Remove any one of those and the picture falls apart. But perhaps most importantly, we are starting to see how all three pieces can fundamentally fit to produce truly successful commercial models.
And yes retailers may be inconsistent, but we’ve worked with many who do want to act, if only the policy environment gives them the certainty and incentives to do so. That means it’s a crucial time to not confuse short-term industry and regulatory setbacks with long-term public disinterest.
This World Refill Day we have been shown the people of Britain – and across the globe – really do care about this issue, and they want to act consistently. They know it’s not a trend or a campaign – it’s part of building a circular economy, a liveable planet, and a more sustainable future for everyone.
Put simply the reuse revolution is happening. What we need now more than ever is belief, coordination and commitment to scale it.
Jane Martin is the CEO of City to Sea.
