Ecosurety supports school refill shops to fight plastic pollution

Ecosurety are excited to be partnering with marine conservation charity Sea-Changers in support of their bespoke programme of Eco Refill shops in schools.

Combating single-use plastic

We are delighted to announce that we are contributing funds to help Sea-Changers expand their Eco Refill shops programme into selected schools in England, Wales and Scotland.

Sea-Changers is a UK marine conservation charity, with a vision to create a world where the seas and shores are clean and healthy and marine species are protected. As part of their work, Sea-Changers funds projects to address the root cause of conservation threats, including pollution from the single-use plastic.

Single-use plastic continues to be a significant polluter of our oceans. Over 460 million metric tons of plastic are still produced every year. An estimated 20 million metric tons of plastic litter end up in the environment. Changing behaviour and reducing demand, whilst educating future generations, is a vital part of the solution.

Inspiring children to embrace refill

Sea-Changers has already funded Eco Refill shops in several coastal schools in England and the programme has been very successful. The shops give young people the skills and tools to take practical action to support the environment, through school-based child-led Eco Refill shop businesses.

The children involved follow enterprise training to plan, launch and operate their Eco Refill business, which sells refills of hand wash, body wash, washing up liquid, and laundry liquids to the wider school community (staff and parents). Every refill sold is a bottle saved from plastic waste. Feedback and evaluation has been strongly positive, with evidence of behaviour change and high levels of engagement.

Our funding will help Sea-Changers to expand this successful programme to more schools across England, Wales and Scotland.

Jon Brookes, Chief Partnerships & Growth Officer at Ecosurety commented:

Rachel Lopata, Co-Founder of Sea-Changers said:

Get involved

Would you like to make your school more sustainable and give your pupils the experience of running a refill shop? You can now apply to be part of the initiative!

Sea-Changers are considering applications from schools in England, Wales and Scotland, for children in KS2 and above to take part. Applications will close on 4 July.