Local schools helping to reduce plastic waste by opening refill shops

On National Refill Day, we want to highlight the work of students at four schools in Richmond upon Thames, who have set up refill shops for their school communities, selling sustainable, affordable products including body wash and washing up liquid. 

The pilot project, which launched this month, is being funded by Richmond Council and run in collaboration with Pupils Profit, an organisation that works to empower young pupils to discourage use of single-use plastics and develop business skills by running school eco-refill shops and, as a result, increasing conversations and behaviours related to sustainability in their communities.

The students run the shops themselves, which includes drawing up a business plan, holding board meetings, allocating jobs and taking payment. The shops run once a month after school, and parents, students and school faculty bring containers to refill with a variety of everyday household products.

The four schools taking part are Darell Primary School, The Queens Church of England Primary School, St James’s Roman Catholic Primary School and Holy Trinity Primary School.

Curious about what else is available locally to reduce waste and support refill practices? We have a variety of local refill shops where you can buy your staple dry goods and cleaning supplies, such as The Refill Larder in Teddington. Not sure how refill shops work, or what you need to bring? Watch Kate from The Refill Larder explain.