A town is doing what it can to reduce the damage caused to the environment by discarded plastic.

Bridport Town Council has taken its support of the Refill Dorset scheme a step further, having introduced the Bridport Bottle in response to the awareness of the damage being done to oceans by plastic waste.

The council’s own-branded water bottle can be refilled for free in many locations across the town, with the idea being to discourage the use of single-use plastic, particularly the plastic used for bottled water.

Cllr Kelvin Clayton said: “The production of water bottles uses 17m barrels of oil a year and it takes three times the water to make them as it does fill them, and then they are thrown away, possibly ending up in our rivers or seas – this just doesn’t make sense.

“We would like to encourage people to purchase their own bottles and then refill them with tap water.” A number of local businesses have already agreed to fill people’s bottles for free, and a list of these businesses will be given along with the Bridport Bottle.

Town Mayor, Cllr Anne Rickard, said: “When the town council heard about getting shops and cafés to offer a refill facility, the idea of offering our own-branded Bridport Bottle was quickly accepted so that we could be proactive in discouraging single-use plastic bottles. We know this isn’t the ultimate answer to plastic pollution, but small steps still take us forward. I hope everyone will like it as much as we do.”

The Bridport Bottle ties in with the council’s support of Bridport Green Fortnight, due to take place next month.

The theme of this year’s awareness fortnight, which starts on April 14, is using less plastic.

The bottles are available from Bridport Tourist Information Centre for £3.50.