Shop in Tickhill starts a eco-filling station to reduce plastic waste

Lesley and Charlotte, employees at the shop.

The Village Pantry in Tickhill has become one of the first businesses in Doncaster to have an eco filling station.

This means instead of buying products wrapped in plastic, you can bring your own containers into the shop and fill up your household necessities such as washing up liquid and fabric conditioner.

Sarah Kiahau, 39, Owner said: “We set up in the area two months ago, there was no one else in Doncaster doing it.

“I thought in the beginning it would be just my vegan customers who used it, but it’s not it’s really blown up. “Even the pensioners are using it.”

The shop allows you to bring in your own containers and stock up on products such as pastas, spices and herbs.

Sarah continued: “This is just the start.

“I have a lot more to learn.”

She hopes to move her business into a bigger premises in the near future so that she can expand her eco-filling station.

Currently the shop stocks products to help people reduce their plastic waste such as plastic free cotton buds, toothbrushes and toilet roll but Sarah wants to do a lot more.

“We don’t need to use as much plastic, every little counts,” she said.

The no waste movement is small but growing, with more and more people concerned about the amount of plastic polluting the planet.

Sarah’s journey to the no waste movement started when her husband was diagnosed with diabetes.

"She wanted to cook him healthy, low carb meals.”

But when she went to the local supermarket to purchase ingredients she was taken aback by just how much packaging the produce was wrapped in.

So she’s now on a mission to provide an alternative shopping method which uses far less plastic.

Veganism is also a main part of The Village Pantry with half of the products in store now vegan.

Everything from vegan pizza to sausage rolls and jerk chicken pasties are on sale in the shop, most of which is sourced from The Vegan Baker in Barnsley.

Sarah said: “We had people coming in with vegan diets and I hated having to say ‘we have nothing for you.’

“So I did some research, looked at all the sites and now it;s just gone boom.

“There are so many vegan products our there and it really opened my eyes.”