ROCK has taken a major step to stop plastic bottles being discarded on its beaches by installing a drinking water refill point.

The nearby Polzeath Marine Conservation Group proudly opened its second water refill station in Rock on Saturday, July 7 under the beautiful Cornish sunshine with local councillor Carol Mould and North Cornwall MP Scott Mann in attendance.

The group’s first refill station, on Polzeath beach, opened in April, and has since had 2,000 litres drawn from it, a strong indication of the station’s potential to protect the marine environment that is so important to the group and to Cornwall.

The group is on a mission to counteract and prevent the damage made by some of the around 10-billion plastic bottles that are discarded in the UK every year, many of which unfortunately end up in the sea, in the marine environment or washed up on UK and Cornish beaches.

Polzeath Marine Conservation Group hopes that the refill station in Rock will be just as successful as the Polzeath station, being used by sailors, ferry-users and families on the beach in the popular Cornish resort.

The Polzeath Marine Conservation Group is regularly involved in beach cleans, having been dismayed by the amount of plastic on the beach and the damage it causes to the marine environment.

Tina Robinson, one of the group’s volunteers got the idea for the refill initiative after a holiday in Australia. She said: “I loved the water fountains I saw on Australian beaches. Back home I was heartbroken to see endless plastic bottles causing damage to our environment, so I decided to do something about it.

“We are really pleased that 2,000 litres has already been drawn from the refill station at Polzeath since April. The cost of this water is less than £4, can you imagine how much more bottles of water to the same amount would cost? It would be fantastic if Cornwall was the first county to have refill stations on its beaches. Then seeing plastic bottles and tops being blown into the sea and taken by the tide would be a thing of the past here. Watch this space! We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that has supported this project as without this the project would not have been possible.”

Bob Taylor, South West Water’s operations director for drinking water services said: “As a founding member of the Refill initiative in the UK which started in Cornwall, we were delighted to respond positively to Tina’s request to provide a connection pipe. Plastic pollution is one of the scourges of our age. We are pleased to take this further step to help protect the marine environment, and at the same time help keep people healthy and hydrated when out and about.”