Have you got a refill shop near to where you live? I’ve written about refill shops a few times before as I think they are brilliant. These zero waste treasure troves are springing up all over the country. I popped along to have a quick look round and thought I’d share it with you, along with 9 great reasons to try shopping at a refill shop.
Refill Shops make eco-friendly and zero waste shopping easier, and more affordable… Read on to see why you should try zero waste shopping at a refill shop. Not sure if you have one near you? Check out this directory to find your nearest refill shop.
What is a Refill Shop?
If you’re not familiar with the idea of a refill shop, it’s a more environmentally way to shop, without unnecessary packaging. You take your own empty containers along, weigh them, fill them with whatever you want to buy, weigh the container again, minus the weight of the goods, and pay by weight. That probably sounds complicated, but trust me, it makes sense when you get there!
I’ve written a step by step guide to how to shop at a refill shop which you can read here.
Why Should You Shop at a Refill Shop?
Read on for my top nine reasons for refilling and reusing at your local refill store.
1. Cut Down on Packaging Waste by Refilling Your Own Containers
First and foremost, shopping at a refill store means you are dramatically cutting down on packaging waste. You can use any container you already have to fill up, or buy a reusable container when you get there. So that means no plastic pasta or sugar bag, no flour packaging, no packaging at all!
2. Cut Down on Food Waste by Just Buying What You Need
Shopping at a refill shop means you can just buy what you need, meaning no food waste. As you pay by weight, if you’re a single person or part of a couple, you can buy a smaller amount, and if you have a bigger family, you can buy more. For example, how many times have you had to throw herbs and spices away because you can’t use them in time? Buying a smaller amount would solve that.
3. Save Money At a Refill Shop
I haven’t compared priced in detail but it seems like the prices are comparable to a supermarket, but without the packaging.
4. Shop Gluten-Free More Easily at Your Local Refill Store
gluten-free ingredients can be harder to buy locally, but I’ve found gluten-free flour, pasta, oats and cereal at Nothing Wasted. You can but regular versions too, as well as all sorts of pulses and nuts.
5. Shop Eco-Friendly and Refillable Toiletries Too
All the refill shops I’ve been to, in Cornwall, Hove, St Albans, Stony Stratford, all sell other eco-friendly products. At most refill shops you can bring an old shampoo, conditioner or body wash bottle and refill it with natural versions. This saves plastic and lets you try a cleaner beauty regime.
They also have things like bamboo toothbrushes, and eco friendly sanitary products.
6. Refill Your Natural Cleaning Products at a Refill Shop
A refill shop is a great place to buy eco friendly, natural cleaning products too. Again, you can bring your old washing up bottle, or spray bottle and fill it up: that’s one less plastic bottle saved!
They don’t have to be from eco-friendly products – your Fairy Liquid bottle or supermarket spray cleaner bottles will refill perfectly well.
Refill shops usually sell washing liquid and fabric conditioner too.
Refill stores often have plastic-free cleaning supplies too, like ‘un-sponges’ which are a plastic-free version of a cleaning sponge (seen to the left of this image)
7. Buy Plastic-Free Eco Toilet Paper
I am a big fan of Naked Sprout and Who Gives a Crap eco friendly toilet roll – read my full review and comparison here. The minor draw back of these is that you have to bulk buy, and may not have anywhere to stash it! But now you can buy it in smaller quantities.
8. Shop Tony’s Chocolonely Ethical Chocolate
Now I’m a bit nervous about this one as it won’t be very good for my waistline. But Nothing Wasted sell my favourite ethical chocolate, Tony’s Chocolonely. It’s even one of my pics for ethical gifting – it tastes amazing and does good too. It looks like I’m not the only fan, judging by these half empty boxes!
They sell other sweets and treats too.
9. Refill Plastic-Free Tea and Coffee
Coffee packaging is not easy to recycle and most tea bags contain micro plastics. I swapped to loose leaf tea a few years back and as well as cutting down on plastic, it also tastes delicious. I’m happy we can also buy smaller quantities of coffee beans to grind as we go too, and pop them straight into our coffee jar.
Even if you can’t use a refill shop for all of your shopping, using it for some of it will make a difference to our planet. It’s also a great way to support small local businesses too.
Not feeling confident you know what to do when you get to a refill shop? I’ve written a handy guide:
