A CAMPAIGN is fundraising to bring a water station to the centre of Bude.

Deb Rosser, founder of ReFILL Bude and chair of A Greener Bude, is hoping to get local businesses and the public involved in bringing a sustainable water station to the Triangle in Bude, in the heart of the town.

Deb began ReFILL in 2014, after having a conversation with Neil Hembrow, BeachCare officer for the South West, about the number of single-use plastic water bottles they had been finding on their local beaches. Having led a beach clean group at Crooklets for eight years prior, Deb was fed up of picking up these plastic bottles, which are expensive to produce and export, and are lethal to the marine environment.

Following their casual conversation, Deb and Neil came up with the simple, yet effective, concept of selling refillable water bottles to take into cafes and restaurants to fill with tap water as opposed to going into a shop and purchasing a single-use plastic bottle of water.

Since its launch in 2014, the scheme has really taken off, having added ReFILL cups to its market too. All profits from the sales go to Bude Sea Pool, of which Deb is a committee member. ReFILL is now expanding across the UK, with ReFILL London having launched recently.

In February, Deb’s other focus, A Greener Bude, launched — introducing a whole team of environmental activists and groups to work on making Bude more sustainable, from ReFILL to The Happy Turtle Company, Bude Cleaner Seas to Morsbags, and #2minutebeachclean to Widemouth Task Force.

As part of the ‘ReFILL Revolution’, Deb is now striving to have a ReFILL water station installed at the Triangle. Having set up a crowdfunding page, she will need to raise £3,500 for the project, which will be provided by MIW Water Coolers. South West Water will install the station, while Bude-Stratton Town Council will provide the water supply. If the project goes ahead, the monies raised will cover the cost of the water station and a water fountain, a plaque celebrating local businesses, which contribute £100 to the cause, and some additional signage.

With the marine group in Polzeath having led the way with this initiative, Deb hopes a ReFILL station in Bude would encourage other communities to follow in their footsteps.

“It’s all about the big changes people are making now,” Deb told the Post. “There used to be a drinking fountain in the Triangle back along, so I want us to go back to how we used to do things.

“We need to encourage more people to reuse, rather than buying another single-use plastic bottle, which will just be thrown away. The water will be free to use for both residents and visitors to Bude.”

ReFILL bottles are on sale at the Bude Sea Pool offices on Summerleaze beach, with profits going towards this important local charity.

The ReFILL water station crowdfunder page will be live until July 15 at 12pm. Deb needs to raise £3,500 to make the project possible. To donate, visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/refillwaterstation