Plastic waste: Shop launches refillable milk scheme

Customers can bring the bottles back to be washed and refilled

A shop on Anglesey has taken steps to tackle the problem of plastic waste by installing a milk machine for customers to fill bottles themselves.

Paul Ellis, who runs Siop Ellis Spar in Llangefni with his partner Leonie Gaulton, said the idea has proved "incredibly popular".

Shoppers can buy glass bottles or bring their own containers and fill up from the 14 litre (24 pint) tank in store.

Anglesey council said it was a "great example" of a way to reduce waste.

Mr Ellis said that just a week after launching, the container of locally-sourced, semi-skimmed milk is being emptied between two and three times per day.

"Like all great ideas it was my missus's," he said.

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"It's been really, really busy. We've had people getting in touch from Canada, Ireland and Sweden [to find out more].

"It's not a revolutionary idea but it's a start."

Customers can also take items such as crisp packets, sweet wrappers and toothbrushes to the shop to get them recycled.

"It makes a big difference I think," Mr Ellis said of his environmental activities.

"We don't need everybody to make a massive change, it just needs a lot of people to make a small change."

Kirsty Luff, of environmental charity Friends of the Earth Cymru, said: "It's wonderful to see this milk refill scheme in Anglesey proving so popular with shoppers. The scourge of single-use plastics is all around us, so having more refill stations in shops of all sorts is exactly the direction we need to be heading.

"Now supermarkets must follow the lead of the growing number of zero-waste and independent shops by providing opportunities for shoppers to refill their containers during their grocery shop."

In April, Anglesey became the first county in the UK to be awarded "plastic free" community status, by the marine conservation group Surfers Against Sewage.

Annwen Morgan, of Anglesey council, said: "This is the latest in a number of innovative schemes by businesses on the island.

"The milk machine scheme is a great example of what can be done to tackle disposable plastic and help make a difference."