Designing London’s Recovery

I think that this is a great idea with benefits to the children “working” in the shop to understand the price of every day products. A revenue stream for the host school and an opportunity for the local residents to meet, purchase essentials whilst reducing both their use of single use plastic as well as travel costs.

First of all, the idea of refilling containers is a great one and is to be encouraged.
HOWEVER The idea of children staffing these shops concerns me for a few reasons that I am surprised need explaining. One is that detergents are damaging to sensitive skin and children are likely to spill them when handling large containers. Another is that children’s priorities shouldn’t include working unless they are in their late teens and can handle the responsibility. Another is that children need to be safeguarded if they are handling transactions with adults (or even much older kids) because of the risks of coercion or worse. All shops have issues around security and theft; would we expect children to manage these risks? What about drunk or violent customers? Another is that I don’t have kids and haven’t been near a school for over 30 year so wouldn’t feel comfortable with shopping in one; I’m not sure I speak the same language anymore. Lastly, a shop is not the sort of family-safe environment that a school fête usually is, so this idea gets a thumbs down from me (except for the refillable containers which are a good thing).

I was in a Lidl in Slovenia earlier this year and they had refill / loose products station in the store, in fact most of their stores in all their European shops had them. It was hygienic, safe and saved on lots of plastic. If lidl can do this in Slovenia why not the UK? We’ve been held to ransom by the big supermarkets and our Government isn’t holding these companies to account, probably because most of their CEOs are Tory party donors! It has to change and very soon, we dont have any more time. Refill stations work, they are widespread in Europe so stop messing about and get them in our stores.

What do you think of this approach? I think its a great start to show our commitment to refilling and reduce waste. I think its great for the students also to learn about shopkeeping and financial management.
Would you use a refill shop based in a school near you? Why or why not? I would use refill shop if at a nearby school but probably only on weekends as I work the weekdays.
What would encourage you to shop there? Learning about what is being sold therefore online shop information would be helpful.
How else could we encourage refill shopping within the local community? Incorporate it with markets, offer incentives such as buy 4, the 5th is free.

While on holiday in Wensleydale in Yorkshire a few years ago we came across a general store being run in a retirement home which was probably the only 'store' in the small village of Bainbridge. We shopped there and were impressed with the idea.

I've lived in a number of different parts of London, and my shopping habits have changed in each place depending on what is convenient. Around Finsbury Park I did most of my shopping in green grocers and corner shops (some of which you might call ethnic shops) because that area has a lot of really great green grocers and a quality and variety of food sold in little shops. I'm now in Nunhead, where there's an excellent refill shop near my house, and I do most of my staples shopping in, there topped up by Tesco Express for dairy etc. I've barely been in a big supermarket in years, I haven't needed to, and I much prefer it that way.

I say this because I think the point about convenience is really important for refill. It's a really great way to do your shopping, both for the environment and also as much more enjoyable experience than a supermarket. I use much less plastic and glass than I used to, and I feel like the refill shop is a little hub in our community. I suspect people will be much more likely to use refill shops if its convenient - which means having lots of them, distributed in every neighbourhood, so I can understand the logic behind putting them in schools. I think it's a good idea worth trying.

That said, while I'm sure having kids staff a centre is a nice experience for them and their parents, if you want other local people in the community to use the refill shop I'd suggest having it open when the kids aren't there, too. It feels a bit gimmicky to me and it makes it sound like it's not a real attempt at a refill shop, just something for the kids. At the least, if you do want these to be open to the public, there would be some promotional work to do to make sure everyone outside of the school community feel like this is something for them, too.

Are there incentives and support you could also offer to help refill shops open as businesses in more neighbourhoods?

I use refill shops but there are no good ones within 2 miles of me, so would support them being set up in schools if that means they would be acccessible to more people. I'm not a parent but would support them being open to non-parents as long as this is practical and safe.

Anything we can do to reduce single-use plastic should be encouraged.
However, to be realistic, I can only see this being used by parents of primary school children, most other people would find it inconvenient.
The most convenient for virtually everyone is if supermarkets had refill sections.

Refill shops are excellent. The only one I know alas is in near Crouch end ,Hornsey several miles from me. They need to be promoted more .You can re-use bottles particularly washing up liquid. I love fruit but hate having to purchase say strawberries which always seem to be in plastic boxes. I think some refill shops have fruit lose. There is a Green shop in Muswell Hill towards Bounds Green. I don't know if they actually do refill though
Why can't the big supermarkets start more Refill and bottle deposit facility as well.

The idea is good if you have children of school age. I do not and therefore would not really change how I shop which is normally at one supermarket within easy reach of where I live. Also, it is never easy to park near schools which would make a visit virtually impossible unless specific parking is provided.

Refill shops are an excellent way to reduce plastic consumption - as a one-person household save at least 4-5 pieces of plastic per week by using them, so for families this could be much more and make a huge impact.

Years ago it used to be more frequent in supermarkets to refill containers for grains, nuts, seeds and to get things in paper bags rather than plastic - so if we as consumers start our own initiatives it takes the power away from corporations who are not using environmentally ethical processes and will put pressure on supermarkets to reconsider their practices.

Not only that, my local refill shop - The Walkthrough at Crystal Palace is a real community hub where people chat and exchange information about products and local events and info.

So I can see this being a great initiative in schools, which could offer pupils the chance to develop great skills, save parents further trips and transport costs to supermarkets and become a really thriving way to build solidarity and community around taking better care of our planet and shopping in environmentally sustainable ways.

I really believe that our daily actions and choices do make a difference.

Good to reuse containers rather than recycling. The children will benefit in many ways: increasing confidence, knowing how to run a small business, awareness of the importance of trying not to waste the earth's resources. School shops would also be effective in raising the awareness of whole families rather than individuals.