Environmental group launches reuse and refill campaign

EarthWay in Midleton, Co Cork, is one of 53 refill stores nationwide, but more are needed, says Voice

EarthWay refill shop in Midleton, Co Cork, was opened last summer after co-owner Wendy Hickey realised, as a family of six, 'just how much packaging we were using, and a lot of it is non-recyclable plastic'.

Shopping at EarthWay refill shop in Midleton, Co Cork, is a little different from your typical supermarket experience.

Customers bring in their own tubs, jars, and bottles and fill them with dry foods such as grains, pulses, rice, pasta, and beans. The store also sells oils, maple syrup, and self-care products.

“We have a scale in there, they weigh their jar, they get a barcode for the jar, they go off and fill up with the dispensers and re-weigh, and then pay for what the food is,” said co-owner Wendy Hickey.

"We have customers who bring in their old pasta bag and refill that, so you're saving that bag from going into the bin."

Ms Hickey opened the store last summer because she realised, as a family of six, “just how much packaging we were using, and a lot of it is non-recyclable plastic”.

"I've always been in that area of sustainability and eco-friendly," she added.

There has been a growing awareness of the need to become more sustainable nationally, but do customers miss the ease of packaging?

The reception has been very positive, people were delighted with it. 

"There are the people who are already on the zero-waste and then there are people who have never seen the concept. We explain it to them and they think it makes perfect sense, and a lot of them end up coming back," she said.

"There is definitely a bigger awareness in school-aged children. A lot of children bring their parents in."

EarthWay customers bring in their own tubs, jars, and bottles and fill them with dry foods such as grains, pulses, rice, pasta, and beans. The store also sells oils, maple syrup, and self-care products.

Ms Hickey was speaking in advance of the launch of a new campaign by Voice of Irish Concern for the Environment (Voice), which calls on the Government to set legislated reuse targets in key sectors to help the country to meet its plastic reduction targets.

EarthWay is one of 53 refill stores nationwide, but Voice believes it is necessary to increase this number in the coming years.

As part of its campaign, Choose Reuse, the environmental group is calling for refill stations in all supermarkets and for businesses to enable customers to bring their own containers to shops, whether it is the local supermarket, café/deli, fishmongers, or butchers.

The organisation has also called for a reduced Vat rate on reusable menstrual items and financial support for small businesses that are moving to refill.

'Shameful' level of packaging

Lyndsey O’Connell, a spokeswoman for Voice, said there is still a “shameful” level of packaging in Ireland and there needs to be a “move towards reuse and refill systems”.

“We’ve been kind of sold this misnomer that recycling is the answer and, in actual fact, it’s not. It’s only one very small part of an overall bigger solution. We rely on it too much,” she said.

“We’re trying to take all of that unnecessary packaging out of the waste stream by refilling and reuse. We need direct policy action. Once it’s in, people will rally behind it just like they did with the reusable shopping bag.”