A NEW refill shop will open in Cwmbran this week.
Lauren Morse has been running Zero Waste Torfaen from her garden shed over the past two years, but on Friday will open the doors of her new shop.
The shop, on Redbrook Way – just across from Cwmbran Centre, will offer refills for household liquids, as well as soaps, toilet rolls made from recycled paper, and a mix of organic and non-organic foods - including a fresh peanut butter maker.
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“It’s been a lot of hard work but we’re nearly there,” said Mrs Morse. “It’s exciting to be opening.
“I have had a refill station in the shed in my back garden. I have been running that for approaching two years.
“It started off very very small where I had about four products. I grew that until the point where I had no space for anything else in the shed.
“I had to be so selective with what I could fit in my house, but now I’ve been able to expand. And it’s nice to get my home back!
“I was driving past and saw the sign. I came to see it with my sister and I knew straight away.
“I grew up in this area and went to Brookfield School so I’m familiar with the area. And it’s just round the corner from my house too, so my customers will know where I am.
“It’s just all fallen into place.”
Mrs Morse said her passion for recycling came from her mum.
“My mum was very passionate about recycling,” she said. “This was in the days where there wasn’t roadside collections. She didn’t drive, so would take me and my sister in our pram down to the bottle bank at Sainsburys. So I was brought up that way.
“I want this shop to be for everybody, for the community. You'll find a mix of organic and non-organic and I promise that there will something here for everybody no matter your budget.
“The whole ethos of this is that people only have what they need or will be using.
“I don’t want people who are not sure about something to have a litre of it that they then won’t use.
“You can get as much as you need. That’s the ethos that I am passionate about.”
Mrs Morse said that she hopes people will begin to take more personal responsibility when it comes to reducing their waste.
“Start small. Make small changes,” she said, when asked what people can do. “If 1,000 people in Torfaen make one switch tomorrow and make it a habit which they kept up, that would be massive.
“You may only feel like you’re doing something small but once you tally it up to 1,000 people all doing it, it’s massive.
“And try to do an extra thing every time you come in. It really does add up. The savings to the planet are massive.
“I feel that we need to take more responsibility for our waste.
“The supermarkets will only stock what we are buying. If 1,000 people switch to refilling their washing up liquid, people will stop buying new bottles from the supermarket and they won’t stock it as much.”
Zero Waste Torfaen opens on Friday, September 3, and will be open from Tuesdays to Saturdays. For more information, visit zerowastetorfaen.co.uk
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