Refill Germany
Refill Germany is a corporation founded in 2017 operates throughout Germany non-profit organization , working for the prevention of plastic waste , including plastic waste in the oceans , are used by so-called refill stations (shops, restaurants, offices) free tap water in brought drinking vessels deliver.
These stations are shown along with their opening times on a virtual and interactive map on the Refill Germany website .
Guiding principle
According to the motto “Have your water bottle with you. Protect our environment! Drink enough water! Live healthy! Save money! ”Large amounts of plastic waste should be avoided. "The Germans use around 46 million disposable plastic bottles every day ." The quality of tap water in Germany is consistently very good, so that plastic bottles do not have to be used for drinking water, but the water can be drunk from the nearest tap.
Refill Germany is a voluntary project run by private individuals. The initiative is independent of companies and political parties .
Refill Germany sees itself as a social movement. Even people with low incomes should be able to participate easily. Therefore, no special merchandise products are offered or advertised. Every drinking vessel brought with you should be filled.
history
On March 24, 2017, Stephanie Wiermann founded “Refill Hamburg”. In doing so, she took up an idea from the English “Refill Bristol” and implemented the guiding principle slightly differently in Hamburg .
Due to the immediately positive response from the public, the refill initiative was quickly expanded to the federal level, and there are now over 5000 refill stations (as of November 2019).
In the summer of 2019, Refill Germany decided and implemented a collaboration with the “Map of Tomorrow”. Since then, the refill stations have been displayed using the “Map of Tomorrow”, which is integrated into the Refill Germany website. Since then, anyone can create, maintain and delete refill stations and drinking water wells in the overview map. Up to this point in time, the map maintenance was done by volunteers, who were usually also available as contact persons for a specific city.
organization
The organization is in the hands of the volunteers. The simplicity on which the idea is based is also reflected in the organizational concept. The internal arrangements are made using online project management software and regular telephone conferences.
World water day
Refill Germany celebrated its first birthday on World Water Day 2018 (March 22nd) and set itself the task of publishing 100 new refill stations on its website on this day. There was a lot of attention from the press and online media for this action, which was successfully completed with 112 stations actually registered on that day.
Awards
- In 2017 Stephanie Wiermann received the 1st prize of the 18th “ Signal Iduna ” environmental and health award from the Hamburg Chamber of Crafts .
- In 2018, Refill Germany was awarded 1st prize in the “ Zero Waste ” category at Next Organic Berlin .
- In 2018, Refill Germany was awarded the Federal Ecodesign Prize in the “Service” category.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Stephanie Wiermann: Refill Germany started. Refill Germany, August 2, 2017, accessed on February 15, 2018 (blog entry).
- ↑ Be there! Call on the website Refill Germany. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
- ↑ A woman from Hamburg declares war on one-way bottles. In: NDR news. October 9, 2017, accessed February 15, 2018 .
- ↑ Anita Pleic: Rheinhessen water supply participates in a refill campaign against plastic waste. Allgemeine Zeitung , March 22, 2018, accessed on March 23, 2018 .
- ↑ In the media - March 2018. refill-deutschland.de, accessed on March 23, 2018 .
- ↑ Annika Flatley: Fill up tap water for free on the go: The refill sticker shows where it is possible. Utopia , March 22, 2018, accessed March 22, 2018 (blog post).
- ↑ Environment and health award. Hamburg Chamber of Crafts , accessed on February 15, 2018 .
- ↑ 1st prize in the Zero Waste category from minute 26. Next Organic Berlin, accessed on October 11, 2018 .
- ↑ Ecodesign Prize Winner 2018. Federal Ecodesign Prize , accessed on November 29, 2018 .