IF YOU happen to find yourself visiting Rosie’s Kitchen for a bite to eat, the Barge for a drink or a countless numbers of other cafes and restaurants in Bude, expect to find a variety of different coloured reusable and eco-friendly cups on sale.

As part of a new initiative to rid Bude of its plastic pollution and encourage residents to reuse as much as possible, Deb Rosser came up with the idea of Refill Bude around two years ago with BeachCare officer, Neil Hembrow, when sitting on Crooklets beach, discussing the increasing pollution of single use plastic bottles.

It was when a container of ink spilt into the sea off the coast of Cornwall in January that sparked the pair to take action. This enabled Deb to gain a £10,000 grant to put towards BeachCare projects in her area, which she has devoted to Refill Bude.

Refill Bude started with reusable bottles, and has grown into a scheme selling reusable cups. Made of bamboo and 100% compostable, the cups have rocketed sky high in sales, selling for £7 with £2 going to the local charity, the Friends of Bude Sea Pool, an organisation that Deb is also involved with.

Deb, a teacher who has been devoting her time to the project during her summer holidays, told the Post: “Refill Bude is a scheme with an aim to prevent single use, unrecyclable cups getting washed up and left on Bude’s beaches. Instead, we want people to reuse, take a Refill Bude bottle or a cup, and don’t buy unrecyclable cups.”

Once Deb had enough money, she made the first order of cups and went over to her favourite place, Rosie’s Kitchen on Crooklets beach, to see if they’d be interested in making an order with her.

To Deb’s delight, the popular bistro was keen to get involved and decided to take a batch to try on their customers. Since then, the scheme has spread to countless other cafes in Bude, and some other restaurants and businesses in Bude are yet to get on board.

For £7, people can get a free refill from many cafes, and 40p off their next drink, all in support of Bude Sea Pool.

The scheme has really taken off this summer, with local people taking advantage of the free refills and discounts with their cups, as well as tourists buying a cup to take home as a reminder of Bude.

Approximately 100-billion unrecyclable cups and bottles go to landfill every year in the UK.

Deb said: “It’s become a massive problem. If we can do a little bit to help, then that’s great. I want to stop cups being left on the beach, and stop single use cups and plastic bottles going to landfill.

“Let’s just do reusing — I know we’re only a small town, but if Bude can make a start, then we’ll be well on the way to making a difference in the future.”

The Refill project has now made a move across the country, starting up in Bristol and Bournemouth, among other locations.

Refill Bude has made well over £300 since the beginning of July, with Deb doing most of the selling herself.

She continued: “This is just me really, I’ve just been doing it in my spare time while I’m off work.

“I’m hoping that we can think about how we can use refill in other ways to reduce the amount of plastic going to landfill. I hope Refill spreads even more than it already has done, and that other towns and cities will take on the scheme.

“I also hope that future generations will stop and think about buying plastic bottles that come from miles and miles just to get here in the UK. Why would you buy a bottle that has come all the way from France — how crazy is that?

“If people start questioning why they’re buying all of this plastic which will go to landfill, when they could be buying something that they can reuse and that can be recycled, then I think we can gradually tackle the problem.”

Deb has expressed thanks to all those who have been kind enough to support the project by featuring the Refill Bude cups in their cafes and restaurants, as well as those who contributed to the creation of the cups.

She added: “I’d like to think the project is encouraging people to reuse and think about the environment and Bude’s wonderful beaches.

“Watch this space — I may have another idea for next summer!”

The Weir at Whalesborough is also taking part in the scheme, filling for free and offering 20-30% off refills.

To find out more information about which cafes in Bude sell the cups, please contact Deb on [email protected]