Designing London’s Recovery

I think this is a great idea and should be open to as wide a portion of the community as possible, not just those that have children in the school. Older people with lower incomes would be a great target group as the local school might be nearer than a shop, and it would allow for intergenerational activities. I would definitely use a refill shop in a local school as it would be more convenient than nearby shops.

There need to be more affordable refill shops in the community. When I was younger refill was the budget option, not the bougie option which it commonly is.

To encourage refill shopping people need to understand that recycling (and landfill) are not the answers. This is part of a wider piece of work needed on educating people about the food system.

I would be all for it - if I knew it had consistent & bulk products available at convenient times.

The problem with ethnic food stores is they only employ, and encourage other ethnics. Result is that the english - sorry British ( other non english immigrants ) don't use them, and don't go in there and stick to their own familiar stores. They don't experiment, and as they don't employ the english either ( sorry British) - When was the last time you saw a pole working in a indian take away, or a luithuanian in the greek cafe, or a "Blah blah" working in another ethnic shop. you don't. What you should do is limit ethnic foods to 66 % of the stock offer. Then you will get Creoles going in for basics and trying othercountries sausages, Aussies trying veg and prducts in the Jamacian shop as they get their exotic lagers and daily bread. Or Portuguese trying items in turkish shops- other wise all you get is a dozen specialist shops where everyone walks past at least ten of the other shops. Thats not ethnicity- its selfishness.
It should be made to ensure and encourage shopkeepers to vary the 33% of stock, as they will need to different to Paddy next door or the Italian shop offer across the road. Sounds racist- but that's the problem, people stick to their own, so it's not just about getting more ethnic shops- it's about them getting them to try and use others, and giving value to society and not being totally insular. Encouraging people to get products not in next door or "Brits shops on the costa, Marmite anyone approach?", and not into the big four out of town with corner outlets / supermarkets, Its about number of lines as well as quality and quantity at reasonable prices locally other wise it's a race to the bottom on Price, price, price.

nice idea, but putting them in schools will limit access out of term time.
Shop keepers won't want them near them as it will reduce there business and then supermarkets will just follow to get trade back, once you have established them.
So who will foot the bill for the room, heat, electrics, the school?
Will it be run in their tuck shop, or school uniform / charity section?
By volunteers who need a personality check to make sure that they are not doing naughty things? Nice idea- needs more flesh on the bone.

Nice idea but i doubt I’d be taking containers to school when i pick up my kids. Schools aren’t particularly convenient unless you have kids there.

Saturday mornings at community centres, church halls etc could be popular. I’d give it a go.

I think it is a great idea and in my Food Policy MSc came across examples of schools running fruit & veg schemes. But I don't have children. When I learned Colgate were running a toothpaste packaging recycling scheme I looked up my nearest recycling point - it was at a school near me. But that's as far as I got - I have no idea how I would be able to access this!

I have a refill shop near me that I use when I can - I also buy from the Topup Truck and there's a shop I go to that has refills of laundry liquid and dish soap. I come from New Zealand where it was just normal to use the bulk food aisle in the supermarket or there is a national chain of bulk food shops called Bin Inn which is aimed at the people wanting to save money. Here they all seem to be quite hipster and trendy and I worry this might exclude some people - especially where prices are not totally clear, people may worry they are spending too much.

It is a good idea in principle but I might not use it myself

these things are nice enough in principle but every refill service/shop I've seen stocks seemingly premium products at premium prices.

People (myself included) aren't going to spend a fiver on a refill of shower gel if you can get perfectly serviceable stuff for a pound. Same with stuff like cooking oil, dry goods - eg 'organic' pasta decanted into your jar is a luxury for most, when you can get a pack of spaghetti for a third of the price.

If you're going to do it in schools (and fair enough, knock yourself out, whatever works etc) then a supplier needs to be chosen with the right products for the people wanting them - otherwise the whole 'refills' sector remains a luxury for the well-off

This feels like an PR project that was built on good intentions (somewhere) but will be very expensive and I'm not convinced it will make a profit.

Refil is available today in patchy locations it is slow to roll out but should be part of every supermarket in the coming future.

Surely there could be a tax break or some form of legislation to encourage a speedy rollout?

As someone who doesn't have children, I would not feel comfortable go to a school to shop. Even if I got over that it be more inconvenient to shop in multiple places.

Also schools already saying they are overworked/ underfunded - how will they afford to heat light outside of school hours? Or are they only proposing this while schools Are open? Which would be of no use to me.

I'm pro refill, but the big stores need to commit to doing it online and in the branch like yesterday! But they are too slow in committing to it, because I'm confident if they do it will hit profits.

Food banks would probably be a better location for refill stations- they are already set up for food handling and by spreading the audience wider it would reposition it as a community store for all - removing stigma etc.

But also it could invest profits in feeding those that currently need food bank support.

My local schools are primary schools. Would it work in these having regard to child protection issues? For household products using local schools might work. I have reservations about the hygiene issues relating to toiletries. There is only one shop within walking distance that I know of selling refills at the moment and this only dispenses upmarket toiletries of foreign origin. I would like to see refills of UK made products available. We should also be discouraging the environmental costs of transport of these products as well as the plastic packaging.

Locally a lot of these refill shops have been closing as they just don't get the footfall. They would have to be able to afford to be there and that's a challenge. Such a shame when I am 100% behind the idea. Ethnic food stores sadly lacking where I am or I would there for most shopping.

I am in favour of having more/better refill services in whatever location evidence suggests will engage the largest amount of the community. I am concerned about the proposal for children to staff the shops - optional work experience for older children perhaps but otherwise I would prefer it be run by experts/professionals to avoid complicating school life.

This is a great idea. It gives parents a convenient way to stock up on things in a more sustainable way without having to go out of their way, and educates kids on money / supply chains / sustainability / jobs. If local residents can use it too it creates a sense of community around the school. Prices must be cheap - this should not be run for profit and any small profits should be reinvested in the school for the benefit of all students.

Any initiatives that helps reduce waste should be encouraged, especially regarding packaging.
One cannot be certain about how councils manage recycling and whether the carefully segregated recycling waste still ends up in a land fill or an incinerator. But if you can reduce waste by using/ relying less on packaging than that is one step in the right direction, under one's control.