Bringing a Zero Waste Shop to the people of Bridport and Beyond.
You can’t have failed to notice the national media attention on plastic pollution in our oceans that has been sparked by Blue Planet II. Locally it has acted as a catalyst for change; many have been to see the Dorset film screenings of A Plastic Ocean, people have begun to act more responsibly to reduce single-use plastics and hundreds have taken part in the clean-up campaigns of our coastal litter.
In Bridport four spirited ladies have taken this step even further in order to help local residents reduce plastic usage, reduce their impact on the planet and help forge stronger connections in the community. For Alex Green and her colleagues Kate Robertson, Lora Pascoe and Libby Rogers, turning towards a more plastic free way of life seems like a no-brainer. As Mothers raising their children in the town of Bridport and also growing up in Bridport as children themselves, the Jurassic coast and it’s beaches have been an integral part of their lives- the recent news of huge plastic presence in the Oceans spurning a want to make a cleaner future.
Living sustainably and teaching their children to respect the environment was what brought the founders of The Green Weigh together, the idea for a zero waste shop on wheels sparked following a visit by Alex in 2017 to the UK’s first zero waste shop in Totnes, Earth. Food. Love.
Alex says “Buying groceries in a zero waste way made so much sense to me, so I returned to Earth. Food. Love with Kate, Lora and Libby in 2018 for a zero waste consultancy. They were so open and encouraging, providing us with all the information we needed to make the idea of a zero waste shop in Bridport a reality.”
The idea for making the shop mobile by putting it on wheels originated when considering the demographic of Bridport, it’s surrounding villages and wider community. “We felt that the message of plastic free shopping would be better delivered into the community if we took the shop to the people” says Libby.
The Green Weigh’s mission is to be affordable, accessible and to supply as many different foods as possible without packaging. The wider benefits of a shop on wheels for the community are also of great appeal to the four. Kate says “With cuts to public services, there are so many people within our community and surrounding villages who are isolated. By bringing our mobile shop into Bridport’s neighbourhoods, we will be a friendly face, a smile, a ‘how are you?’ We will be able to offer them plastic free shopping with our van in a personally assisted way.”
The idea of a mobile shop in Bridport’s community is nothing new. “My Mum says she remembers a mobile shop which used to visit Netherbury when I was a baby” says Lora.
“So in a way, we’re not really creating anything new at all. The Green Weigh will be a packaging free, mobile shop, the way things used to be!”
The group recently staged a ‘Plastic Attack’, a peaceful demonstration in the Bridport Waitrose store, supported by Billy Bragg. Shoppers unwrapped their unnecessary unrecyclable plastic packaging from their groceries and loaded up trolleys with the waste.
They have created a Crowdfunder campaign to raise the necessary funds to be able to bring ethically sourced dry foods, household & personal care products to Dorset and you can pledge your support to the campaign until 21st June. The zero waste shop will launch this summer, and we look forward to bringing you their news as it develops.