With plastic currently ’pubic enemy number one’ it was interesting to read about eco brand Ecover’s recent pop-up Rubbish Cafe in London. If you wanted to go inside, you had to ’pay’ with recyclable plastic rubbish but once inside, you could savour goodies from a zero-waste menu from eco chef Tom Hunt. The stunt coincided with the arrival of Ecover’s new washing-up liquid range which now comes in 100% recycled and 100% recyclable bottles.

Meanwhile, ethical water brand One Water is launching Tetrapak cartons, canned water and refillable bottles in response to environmental concerns over the use of plastic. The company believes that cartons and cans offer "real environmental benefits" versus PET. Its cartons are made primarily from renewable paperboard which breaks down faster than plastic while the cans are made from mostly recycled material.

It’s all interesting stuff. However I am always concerned that sometimes we can be guilty of throwing the baby out with the bath water. Yes, those photos of plastic washing up from rivers and seas are terrible but plastic has a place. And shouldn’t more be done to encourage people to recycle? Responsible citizens do this already but not everyone has a sense of responsibility.

An interesting survey from water purifying company Brita found that two-thirds of Brits would look more favourably upon a business if it offered free water refills. What is more, two-thirds of those surveyed said they thought food and drink businesses should be required to provide free tap or filtered water to anyone who asks for it.

Obviously soft drink sales are big business in forecourts with many bottles of plain water, and water with added benefits, sold. However, with many forecourts offering pumptop promotions and gadgets and gizmos in-store, lots of you must be selling refillable water bottles. I wonder what you’d think about offering free water refills in your food-to-go areas. Perhaps some of you already do?

There’s no doubt that it would be a popular move and with the anti-plastic movement only gaining momentum, it could be good for business.

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