Weigh To Save Thetford

Aim

The aim is to open a zero waste refill shop with dry goods, personal hygiene items, homewares and gifts all unnecessary packaging free!

I've had a dream of opening a zero waste shop for almost two years now. Every time I go to the supermarket I find it harder and harder to find items not covered in plastic. Even when they look like they're in cardboard, there's usually hidden plastic inside. 

While we search through chain stores for plastic free items, the oceans fill up with discarded waste and the planet is falling apart.

In my shop everyone will be able to bring their own containers to refill time and time again. The shop will sell loose dry goods such as pasta, nuts, dried fruit, herbs and spices; plastic free baking accessories such as cake boards and tins, utensils and storage containers; plastic free hygiene and beauty products including make up, period pants, menstrual cups and contraception; liquid refills such as oils, vinegars, cleaning products, shampoo and conditioners.

Buying loose and refilling isn't just good for the planet - it's good for your bank account too! With your own jar to fill you can put in as much, or as little as you need. Days before payday and running low on funds? Just buy 6 tea bags! Want to try a new recipe but don't know if you'll ever use those obscure ingredients again? Just buy enough for your recipe! This saves food waste but the pennies as well. As a community interest company, my shop will have options for those on low incomes to be able to buy reusable items such as period pants or cloth nappies; reusable products are often cheaper in the long run, but can be a big cost up front. 

All being well, my plan is to open a “Library of Things” too - this will be somewhere you can hire items that you don't need often. The Library of Things will include items such as ladders, tents, pressure washers, carpet cleaners and roof boxes! Most people buy these sort of items and only need them once a year, the rest of the year they just sit in the shed or the garage. The Library of Things will mean one product can be made and purchased but used by many people. Just another way to cut down on consumerism and the carbon footprint of barely used but often essential items.

So to start my dream, I quit working in August 2020 to try and make it happen! Sadly since there I've hit many obstacles and it has not been an easy process - my 5 year old son was diagnosed with a serious medical condition which has changed his life forever and put everything on hold - this meant I had to withdraw from grant funding I had been accepted for.

When my son (now 7) started to come to terms with his diagnosis I became very ill with poor mobility and extreme exhaustion. Some days I couldn't even get out of bed, let alone leave the house. So after 9 months of investigations, scans and blood tests I am now mostly on the mend!

The shop will also hopefully have a small area for customers to stop and chat, share their eco friendly tips or recipes or possibly even have a tea or coffee before they consider their new plastic free brew!

Despite being accepted for one grant, on my second application I was turned down as there were so many applicants needing community funding!

I'm therefore in need of some fundraising so I don't lose what I have already spent on business planning and research, or the premises which I desperately want!

I really would like to be open in the next couple of months and I hope that everyone who feels the same as I do about the amount of waste ending up in our seas will donate so that we can make this project happen!

This project closed unsuccessfully on 12th February 2022