#RefillCyprus Launch Event - Agios Tychonas

If you walk on the seafront path of Agios Tychonas, behind the Four Seasons Hotel, look out for a new feature: a Water Refill Station dispensing free, filtered drinking water. A touch-free sensor on the side activates the water flow so you can fill up your own bottle.

The station was installed by environmental non-profit organisation Let’s Make Cyprus Green (LMCG), with the support of Agios Tychonas Municipality, JCI Lemesos, and sponsors Brandenburg Marine, BDO and Andy’s Motors. It forms part of LMCG’s Refill Cyprus campaign — a sustained initiative which aims to persuade all of us to reduce our dependence on throwaway plastic bottles. In an age where over one million plastic bottles are used every minute all around the globe, the Mediterranean Sea already holds up to 10 million plastic particles every square kilometre. Each year, an additional 229,000 tonnes of waste plastic leak into the Med, the equivalent of over 500 shipping containers a day.

At the Water Station’s launch on 11 December, Eleni Kazelas, Chairman of LMCG, said: “With Refill Cyprus, we're negating the damage caused by plastic bottles because we're not sanctioning the use of them at all. Instead, we're encouraging people to make a habit of bringing a reusable bottle whenever they go out and refilling it when needed - which is an effective way to stop depending so heavily on plastic, and helps to prevent waste entirely - without any need for landfills or recycling.”

Aside from protecting the environment and helping to save wildlife from the potentially serious injuries or death caused by our plastic waste, Eleni points out that drinking filtered tap water protects our health. Dangerous chemicals can leach from plastic bottles into the water you consume from these plastic bottles; AND you’ll save money by not purchasing bottled water over and over again — a triple win. So the Refill Cyprus campaign tackles multiple issues: environmental protection, human health, animal welfare and even climate change — because manufacturing plastic bottles produces carbon emissions.

The water station contains three water filters: 1) carbon block 2) UV and 3) sediment filter that will be replaced as needed, thanks to the support of the Karma Water Filters. Regular cleaning of the station is sponsored by Makdonas cleaning company. “Refill Cyprus” reusable bottles are supplied by LMCG’s partner Ekonest and were gifted to participants in the launch.

A similar water station is already installed on Yermasoyia seafront. Other municipalities that have signed up to join Refill Cyprus are Ipsonas, Aglanzia and Paralimni — and more are coming soon. LMCG are actively looking for additional sponsors to help fund more water stations. Graphic panels on the stations advertise the sponsors’ support.

Please help us tackle plastic pollution by:

Donating to the #RefillCyprus project here on our website or via our crowdfunding campaign;
Use less plastic by discontinuing the use of bottled water. Some great alternatives can be found on the Eco Shop section of our website;
Spreading the word about our #RefillCyprus campaign and refill station in Agios Tychonas and Yermasoyia;
Becoming a member of our organization to help us continue our work. More info on this can be found here.

We encourage you all to reduce, reuse, and refill from here on out.