Getting Started Circular.ie

A beginner’s Guide to Refills

3 min read

Walls lined with pasta-filled dispensers. Glass jars, a weighing scale and label maker. You’ve just entered your local refill shop and are wondering where to start. Although these shops might look a little different, the concept is simple: bring your own container, fill up what you need and avoid excess packaging and spend.

Incorporating refill shopping into your life is one of the most everyday ways to live more circularly and sustainably. It is more interactive than the normal food shop, giving you back control over quantities, cost and waste. It lets you make decisions about what you bring into your home and how much you consume.

The beauty of it is, you don’t have to buy anything to get started. It feels like every house in Ireland has empty jars, containers, tupperware or even saved ziplock bags at the back of the kitchen cupboard, waiting for their time to shine. If you don’t collect containers, you can ask friends and family for donations. Many refill shops offer free jars to be filled, too.

That’s truly all you need to get started.

Once you get to your local refill, take time to have a look around and note what products are available. You may want to start small with rice or oats and think about what else you can go for on your next visit. Everything from granola to matcha powder, shampoo and tea leaves can be filled up.

Starting small goes a long way

An entire life and routine overhaul is not required here. Starting with replacing a couple of items per week is a great place to begin. Here are some tips for taking the first step into refill:

Choose a few items you buy often - this could be rice, pasta, oats or oil.
Containers don’t have to be pretty. You can use an old lunchbox, jam jar, reused ziplock bag or even an empty pringles tube!
Bolster your weekly shop - drop into your local refill store on the way to your weekly shop, stocked up on essentials, then fill in the gaps at the supermarket.

Take note of what can be swapped next - you’ve mastered the weekly pasta refill, could you switch your granola or hand soap to the refill store next?

So, what's the easiest product to start with? Refill shop owners have told us laundry detergent is the number one item people start with.

A quick home audit

Once you’ve got a refill or two under your belt and know exactly what your local shop stocks, it can be useful to do a waste audit of what else you could switch to.

A quick walk around your home with refill ‘goggles’ on, reveals a treasure hunt of packaging that can be replaced with a low waste or zero waste alternative.

The kitchen cabinet often offers many easy swaps but check bathrooms and washing up areas for other plastic or packaging heavy products. You can even get the kids involved and turn it into a fun game of spot the plastic!

Is shopping zero waste for me? Despite the positive shift refill shops provide, there are still misconceptions from the public about who these shops are for and how they work.

Grab your tote, jars and bottles and head down to your local refill shop.

Let’s bust these common refill concerns!

Is it more expensive?

Not necessarily, some items can
be cheaper, with many liquids
being higher quality meaning
they last longer. This means
needing less quantity, saving you
money as well as packaging
and food waste.
Does it fit into my routine?

Once you have gathered containers
and located your nearest shop,
weaving refills into your week
can be easy when you combine
it with your usual shopping trip.
My whole life isn’t zero waste, is it for me?

Even one small change is better
than no change at all. Refill shops welcome all types of shoppers
and are happy to help you no
matter the quantity you need.