YORK'S Lord Mayor, Cllr Keith Orrell, has continued his fight against single-use plastics with the launch of a new refill scheme.

The Refill York scheme aims to encourage businesses to let people refill bottles with tap water on their premises, so that fewer empty plastic bottles are thrown away.

The Mansion House launch was also attended by marine conservation expert Callum Roberts, who was an advisor on Blue Planet and previously met the civic party at the University of York earlier in the year.

In his address, Cllr Orrell reiterated the pledge of his inaugural speech to raise awareness of sustainability and promote organisations that are leading by example.

Councillor Andrew Waller, executive member for the environment said: “This event brought people together to raise awareness of what we can do to reduce single-use plastics and it was good that there was such enthusiasm to change things.

“Together we can make a difference. Over the last few years, the blight of single-use plastics has become increasingly prevalent in the public conscience. A key part of this change was the Blue Planet documentary, which is why it was so good to hear from Professor Callum Roberts, who was the series scientific adviser for Blue Planet, about his work and the impact plastic is having on our environment.”

Council leader Ian Gillies added: “Every household and business has a part to play in reducing single-use plastic across the city. The smallest thing can make the biggest difference which is why it is important to have this important.

“We want this conversation to help build partnerships that can make a lasting impact and highlight that as well as reducing plastic use there are also many health benefits to drinking water.”

John McGall, from scheme I am reusable said: “The ultimate test of a man's conscience maybe his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.

"You need to remember there's No Planet B"

Charlotte Hawkins, Refill said: “We’re so excited that York is joining the Refill movement and making a real difference by reducing reliance on single-use plastics. Every time we refill a re-usable water bottle we save money and the planet’s resource, and all those individual refills add up to a huge impact. It’s great to see so many local businesses already supporting Refill York by signing up to provide free refills, and we hope lots more will join soon."

Richard Emmott from Yorkshire Water added: “We have all seen the devastating effects plastic bottles can have on the environment. Yorkshire on Tap is our commitment to change that.

“We have set a target of removing one million plastic bottles from circulation throughout the county. We know it is certainly a challenge but we have had great support from the public and local businesses.

“We are thrilled that York Council will join us and hopefully we can make a real difference.”

And Matthew Wilkinson, from Yorwaste, said: “Everyone has a part to play in reducing the amount of plastic. We have all got used to recycling at home but there is so much more we can do at our work and business to minimise our waste or ensure we recycle in the most effective way.”