Designing London’s Recovery
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2695 Londoners have responded | 08/09/2022 - 16/10/2022
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Refill shops in schools
City Hall is supporting innovators to develop solutions to some of the challenges in London.
One of the innovators is testing refill shops based in schools. Refill shops are shops where customers can bring in their own containers to refill items rather than buying pre-packaged items.
The shops will be staffed by children, and will sell hand wash, body wash, laundry liquid, and washing up liquid. Shops will be open to parents and carers of the pupils, and potentially to local residents.
The innovators hope that refill shops in a convenient location will encourage parents and carers to reduce plastic waste by shopping there.
Tell us what you think in the discussion below:
- What do you think of this approach?
- Would you use a refill shop based in a school near you? Why or why not?
- What would encourage you to shop there?
- How else could we encourage refill shopping within the local community?
The discussion ran from 05 September 2022 - 17 October 2022
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Log into your accountMel'76
Community Member 2 years agoIt would be great if refill shops were to become a way of life. At the moment they are too few and far between, also refilling can be far more expensive than buying products in their packaging.
Show full commentIt would be great if refill shops were to become a way of life. At the moment they are too few and far between, also refilling can be far more expensive than buying products in their packaging.
Show less of commentLinda Snell
Community Member 2 years agoI am not in favour of this approach as although it is great for parents and carers what about pensioners and those with no children. Should we be encouraging strangers to go into schools?
Show full commentI am not in favour of this approach as although it is great for parents and carers what about pensioners and those with no children. Should we be encouraging strangers to go into schools?
Show less of commentLloyd1969
Community Member 2 years agoBrilliant idea. I’m all for it so long as the security of the children is taken into account. The more refill shops the better and if proceeds got to the school in this case then even better. This will also encourage parents who might not...
Show full commentBrilliant idea. I’m all for it so long as the security of the children is taken into account. The more refill shops the better and if proceeds got to the school in this case then even better. This will also encourage parents who might not use refillable products to start doing so. It will also show the children that being eco-friendly works and might encourage them to get their parents to buy products from the school.
Show less of commentStumpy0211
Community Member 2 years agoGreat idea even though I don't have schoolchildren any more, nor am I likely to use it myself as I have mobility issues and like to have my food delivered. Hopefully the site would provide packaging (bio-degradable containers or 'tupperware...
Show full commentGreat idea even though I don't have schoolchildren any more, nor am I likely to use it myself as I have mobility issues and like to have my food delivered. Hopefully the site would provide packaging (bio-degradable containers or 'tupperware' boxes) for people attracted as footfall. Definitely open it to the public as there is more financing there and survival is about profit taking. Why not have supermarkets get involved?
Show less of commentAdvertising : - "If you buy this washing powder here, you can refill the container at xxxxxx school." Maybe encourage manufacturers to be the first to supply refillable containers for their products.
People will invariably find a way to make a great idea work in their favour and take advantage of others good intentions. It needs to be marshalled by competent adults and I would even suggest a registration scheme linked to a bonus scheme.
This type of profect meets two needs. It will help with the cost of living and should also help with our declining environment.
kscterry
Community Member 2 years agoI don’t see the point in refill shops. My local council recycles pretty much all plastics anyway. My local council is transparent about where the waste goes so I’m confident it doesn’t get dumped in the sea.
Show full commentOne of these opened up near me...
I don’t see the point in refill shops. My local council recycles pretty much all plastics anyway. My local council is transparent about where the waste goes so I’m confident it doesn’t get dumped in the sea.
Show less of commentOne of these opened up near me and closed swiftly due to lack of business/public interest. People just don’t have the time/space to waste hoarding old rubbish to take to a shop to pay more for less choice
I think City Hall should perhaps focus on getting some councils to recycle basic common materials - in some London Boroughs you still can’t recycle metal foil, glass jars or food waste. I know Lambeth and Newham are examples of perpetrators.
rk89110
Community Member 2 years agoThe UK recycles only about 45% of household waste (https://www.recyclingbins.co.uk/recycling-facts/). Our recycling rate has not increased more than 3% since 2010. Even if your council recycles more than the national average, most of the...
Show full commentThe UK recycles only about 45% of household waste (https://www.recyclingbins.co.uk/recycling-facts/). Our recycling rate has not increased more than 3% since 2010. Even if your council recycles more than the national average, most of the plastic waste is shipped overseas (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49827945).
The obvious conclusion is--we need to reduce waste in the first place.
Show less of commentLloyd1969
Community Member 2 years agoRecycling is part of the problem, not the solution. Closed loop systems are best for the planet and this is what’s proposed here. Only 10% of the world’s plastic has been recycled, the rest is heaven knows where. Most councils burn the...
Show full commentRecycling is part of the problem, not the solution. Closed loop systems are best for the planet and this is what’s proposed here. Only 10% of the world’s plastic has been recycled, the rest is heaven knows where. Most councils burn the waste which they cannot recycle and this a large proportion as a lot of it is contaminated so cannot be recycled. Burning waste produces CO2 as well as other pollution. Recycling also needs a large infrastructure which uses large amounts of energy, produces more pollution and adds to vehicle congestion as well as your council tax. Recycling is encouraged by the food industry as it forces you to buy more of their products packaged in plastic, which can only be recycled 3 times, at best.
Recycling is definitely not the answer, reducing our waste is and reusing containers in refill shops is the solution to our plastic problem.
Show less of commentTomdunmore
Community Member 2 years agoI think this is a great idea to help reduce waste and provide cost savings, while also educating kids in running a small business. However, my child is in the last year of primary school and the secondary school is too far away to be...
Show full commentI think this is a great idea to help reduce waste and provide cost savings, while also educating kids in running a small business. However, my child is in the last year of primary school and the secondary school is too far away to be practical. So I think it’s important to open shops to local residents rather than just parents/carers.
I also think that an important part of making this work would be to publicise the refill shops in the local community, for example through local WhatsApp/Facebook groups and Nextdoor.
Show less of comment