Can refill shops help us kick the plastic habit?

No matter how much we try, it seems it’s very hard to avoid plastic. A staggering 300 million tonnes of plastic is still being created every year, with an eye-watering half of this being single use, destined to be used just once then thrown away.  

As overwhelming as this sounds, there is a glimmer of hope from pioneers of a new type of shop that combine traditional waste-saving ideas with a modern twist. Prompted by the increasing number of people willing to look at how to reduce their use of plastic, particularly when it comes to packaging, there has been a steady rise in entrepreneur-run refill and reuse shops around the world, with new stores popping up from Bali to Belfast.  

The Refill trend 

These inspiring stores help their customers live a more zero waste lifestyle by removing the packaging completely from the products they sell, encouraging the use of home-brought containers to fill and refill with bulk goods such as wholefoods, beauty items and cleaning products. The supplies are presented in a variety of dispensers throughout the shop, bringing a homely traditional feel to this very modern waste-conscious trend.  

Latest figures show there are now around 200 refill stores in the UK alone and there are also signs that these zero waste pioneers might be on to something as bigger players are now entering the refill scene. The refill concept has attracted the attention major supermarkets such as Waitrose, Morrisons and M&S, who are part of a new grocery partnership that has begun a new trial to offer customers the opportunity to bring their own packaging for refill at selected supermarket stores. 

Room for improvement 

So what do we know about consumer attitudes to refill stores? Research carried out by business and management students at Sheffield University as part of a project for British Glass sought to find out some answers.  

A survey conducted by one undergraduate looked at customers’ experience of small refill stores and found that 21% of respondents had visited a store before. A third of those who did so were aged between 18-24, reflecting the concern that many younger people have about the protecting the environment.   

However, it was clear from the findings that more needed to be done to raise awareness of the refill shops. “My findings all point to the factor that people are unsure of what refill shops are and that the only people who know about them are the people who have used them in the past” says the student. Encouragingly, those respondents that had yet to try a refill or reuse store said that they would consider doing so if they had more information about them. 

Kiera also found that supermarkets have also quite a bit more work to do on promoting their instore refill stations trials, as three quarters of respondents were not aware that the supermarkets offered these facilities.  

Working for a better world 

One undergraduate student was interested in the view from the other side of the counter and conducted interviews with three owners of independent refill stores. They discovered that these entrepreneurs were motivated by their altruistic beliefs and ‘prioritised planet over profit’. There was a strong desire to do their bit to help the environment and encourage customers to live a sustainable lifestyle.  

The student says says “I found that self-fulfilment, encouraging sustainable beliefs in others, personal determination are fundamental qualities to the owners of these refill and reuse shops.  

“I also found that meaningful work, green business practices, entrepreneurship and a sense of community are core values in refill shops which they use to develop sustainable, environmental and community interests”.  

The student learned that running a refill shop could be a tough experience, with the owners reporting feelings of overwhelm and the importance of having emotional support to help them face the challenges they experienced.  

The future for refill 

It’s clear from this research by the students that there is potential for more consumers to embrace the refill and reuse habit, but that more needs to be done to educate the public as to how it works and how they can get involved.  As seen with the dramatic drop in single use plastic carrier bags at the checkout, change is possible, albeit boosted in that instance by a mandatory plastic bag tax. The interesting challenge with refill is how to nudge shoppers into adopting quite a different way to buy their goods, and how to support refill store owners during this period of transition, especially at a time when costs are high and worldwide markets are so volatile.     

Victoria Adams, Communications Manager at British Glass commented “This research project by the University of Sheffield students, although small in scale, gives a useful insight into the growing refill and reuse movement, in which glass packaging of course plays such an important role. We’re encouraged to learn that people of all ages, including crucially the young, are supporting a zero waste culture by shopping at refill stores, and that with more education and awareness, many more would potentially do so”.  

This year’s World Refill Day on 16th June seeks to present an inspiring vision of a refill and reuse revolution around the globe. The annual campaign, which was first launched 7 years ago, is calling for the UK government to set legally-binding and time-bound targets to increase the amount of reusable packaging on the market – for 5% of packaging to be reusable by 2026 and 30% by 2030.  

Kicking the plastic habit might be hard, but with a little help from the refill warriors, it might just be possible to change our relationship with it in store for good.