A prominent voice in the war on plastic is to disappear, after environment charity City to Sea announced it was closing having failed to get enough funds to continue.
Despite playing a prominent role in UK policy wins including the bans on plastic cotton buds and single-use cutlery, plates and polystyrene takeaway items, the charity said it would be winding up operations this month after 10 years of campaigning.
City to Sea said that despite recent tangible shifts towards reuse systems, the scarcity and competitive nature of grant funding and difficult economic times for corporate partners had driven its decision to close operations.
The charity’s Refill app, launched in 2016, has been downloaded over 750,000 times and lists more than 370,000 refill stations worldwide, which it claims has prevented an estimated 100 million single-use plastic bottles from entering the waste stream annually.
But it said progressive not-for-profit organisations coud not bear the financial and operational burden of de-risking the transition to reuse for government and business.
It claimed the closure of organisations like City to Sea signalled that visionary solutions risk being lost due to systemic inertia and chronic underinvestment.
“We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved over the past decade,” said CEO Jane Martin. “When we started, refill and reuse were nowhere to be seen in strategic roadmaps and business plans. Since then, we’ve witnessed real shifts with city-wide reuse initiatives across the UK and upcoming EPR and DRS legislations.
“But despite growing public demand for reuse, the reality is that underfunding, lack of enabling regulation, and a system still optimised for single-use have made our mission as a non-profit increasingly unsustainable.
“The new reuse economy desperately needs bolder commitments from governments, brands, and retailers. They need to be on the right side of history. It’s time to turn talk into action, with deeper investment, legally binding regulation, and cross-sector collaboration.”
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