A NEW zero-waste a refill shop is coming after being in the works for a year.
Co-owners Rachel Sprunt and Cherry McKean, both from Earls Colne, are preparing to open their new refill shop in the village this weekend.
The shop, named ‘Ecolnes Refillery’, was an idea the pair came up that stemmed through a pre-existing Facebook group.
Cherry said: “Rachel and are both admins in Facebook group that is very popular with more than 1,000 members.
“We were also talking about how we can reduce plastic waste.
“So, we decided to take the group off of Facebook and into a face-to-face environment and do it as a business.”
Cherry decided to leave her carpenter job of 28 years, and began working on the shop with Rachel, which the pair did for about a year.
She said: “It was a hard and emotional decision, but I just feel I had to do it, as the environment is such an important topic.”
Ecolnes Refillery works like other zero-waste and refill store, and has a range of products like cereals, dry food and washing products.
Many products are locally-sourced, and all liquids are vegan.
Once the containers in-store are emptied, they are re-used, to further cement the zero-waste and eco-friendliness of the shop.
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Cherry said: “We did lots of research and know that there is one in Tiptree and Braintree, but we wanted to bring one as a closer option for those in and around the village.
“People seem to be very excited at the prospect of it, and it feels great that people are wanting this.
“Every village should have this type and option of shop; it is different from your typical way to shop being much more relaxed.
“After so much hard work it is just great to see it this close, and we are very excited to share our dream of bringing something like this into the village.”
Ecolnes Refillery is having its grand opening this Saturday, April 16, open from 9.30am to 3pm.
From then on, it is open Tuesday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm and on Saturdays from 9.30am to 3pm.
The shop can be found at 75 High Street, Earls Colne.
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