A zero-waste store for the community of Newquay.
The Zero Waste Store aims to reduce the amount of single-use plastic that would otherwise be thrown in to landfill – or make it’s way through the energy-intensive recycling process.
The store will allow customers to bring in their own containers, fill them with dried foods (including rice, nuts, seeds, flours, herbs and spices) and non-food items (including household, laundry and personal care products), only paying for what they need…meaning less food waste and no packaging waste. I hope my idea will inspire and empower the local community to make important lifestyle changes with huge benefits to our environment.
With strong links to the local community and the local environment, The Zero Waste Store will help further establish Newquay as a forward-thinking, environmentally conscious, proactive seaside town.
The concept
Bottles, bottle tops, plastic wrapping used for everyday food staples (lots that can’t even be recycled)…the ocean is full of it. According to Greenpeace, an estimated 12.7 million tonnes of plastic – everything from plastic bottles and bags to microbeads – ends up in our oceans each year.
Recycling is great, but it’s even better if we don’t use the plastic in the first place. The thing that makes The Zero Waste Store different from any other retailer in the area is that customers bring in their own containers and fill them with produce…only paying for what they want, and not a bit of plastic packaging in sight.
With so much plastic being washed up on the town’s beaches, this is my opportunity to have a positive influence on the local and wider environment. I want to empower the local community to use the store and make some important lifestyle changes…so they know they really are making a difference.
THE STORE
- Will be located in the centre of Newquay.
- Will supply dried foods including rice, pasta, nuts, seeds, flours, herbs and spices and non-food items, i.e. household cleaning, laundry and personal care products.
- A supply of reusable jars, bottles, tins and canvas shopping bags will also be available.
COMMUNITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
- Inspiring and empowering the local community to make important lifestyle changes – with benefits to us and our environment – is a wonderful thing.
- Building relationships with other independent retailers in Newquay will increase the sense of community felt within the town – and improve the local economy. Working together we can demonstrate to the wider world, the brilliant team of small independent businesses we have here in Newquay.
- Working alongside other groups and organisations to help Newquay achieve environmental targets (Plastic Free Coastline and Cornwall Council's commitment for the Council to become single-use plastic free by 2020).
The time is now
Plastic pollution is being widely reported in the mainstream press – and people are listening. I want to empower the local community to realise that they can make a difference. A motion from eight Cornwall Councillors debated at a full Council meeting on the 23rd February 2018 has resulted in a commitment for the Council to become single-use plastic free by 2020...there really is no better time to launch the project.
A helping hand
We are looking to raise £10,000 through our Crowdfunder campaign. This will allow us to:
- provide upfront rent and business rates for initial three months of trading.
- provide initial stock outlay (this will then be reviewed and refined in-line with customer demand).
- fit-out the shop including scales, dispensers and containers.
You can show your support or the project by making a donation. And, as my campaign grows momentum, I will have a host of rewards for you to pledge on, too. Keep your eyes peeled for things to come...
This is as much about people and community as it is about the environment so for every supporter of this project, I will create a wall of thanks – where your contribution to the project will listed be in pride of place, for everyone to see.
A little bit about me
I moved to Cornwall three years ago, lured by a new sense of calm combined with stunning coastline and beautiful beaches. And while all those things are true, it is impossible to ignore the enormous amount of plastic, ranging from crisp packets (some from the 1960s, where the companies have disappeared yet their packaging lives on), to tiny balls of polystyrene scattered miles along the tideline. Beach cleans are a great way to begin to get rid of some of the plastic that fills our oceans. My pockets are often full of tiny pieces of plastic that, by the time I pick it up has, no doubt, already left an almighty path of destruction. And it was this that I just couldn’t shake. I wanted to do something further up the chain. As a little girl I just wanted to make the world a better place. This is my opportunity to do just that.