28/07/2020
Day 28
Today’s chat is with Sammy from Sea No Waste in Arbroath - a refill shop which stocks lots of different foods as well as a variety of other no waste products including beauty products, household items & toilet roll!! They also have a website https://seanowaste.co.uk/, where you can buy all the items to either be delivered or posted depending how local you are!
How did you get started with your business?
I grew up with stores similar to mine. We were lucky enough to travel with my dad being in the forces, so sixteen years of my life were in different countries. From Germany, Holland to Hong Kong and Thailand I was aware on how differently these countries dealt with their waste. Both different, from one extreme to another. Living in Germany for the most of my childhood I felt they were on top of their game when it came to recycling. Multiple bins for different items. Cans, paper, tins, bottles, food, garden waste all picked up at our doors. So, I guess this has always stuck with me and found it weird coming home that it wasn’t the normal here. When my husband had to go away to Iraq for 3 years, I left my nursing career to look after our kids. So, for those 3 years I really got to notice how much waste were producing as a small family and I got more and more frustrated at the amount of single use there was in the supermarkets. Finding it difficult to fine loose fruit and veg was getting harder. When Ian, my hubs was home we came across a documentary called the Plastic Whale. For those who know me, whales are my ultimate favourite animal and I do as much I can to help protect them. This documentary floored me. I was so upset by it that ï proposed my idea of a zero waste store to Ian and he agreed that this would be a great idea to limit plastic from food not only for us but for our community and where ever else it could take us. This was in March 2018 and we were open in September 2018. The blue planet was an eye-opening documentary which I feel was the start of the zero waste movement, so we had opened at the right time.
Why is being plastic free so important to you?
Being plastic free or reducing the use of single use is important when you get to see visuals of what our man made products are doing to our environments, land waterways and oceans are important to be kept clean in order to protect out animals from harm. To many videos of turtles, whales, birds to name a few having horrible injuries or resulting in death from food packaging, tin rings or balloons.
What would your one tip be for reducing plastic easily?
Tips for reducing plastic I would say start with something small. Your shampoo can be changed to a bar that will last up to 6 months. It can be bought naked or in a tin. At sea no waste it wasn’t about profit for us, it was about providing a service to our local community and now the whole of the UK as a way to shop plastic free that wasn’t going to be expensive. Of course, there are a few that may cost a little more but not having to deal with any rubbish after you shop with us is a win for me and I hope for others. I wanted to ensure that nothing would end up in landfill of the oceans from our store. So, everything is compostable, biodegradable or easily recycled. Buying what you need as also a way to reducing on your spending. We have no limit in our store so if you need a tsp of something you can have it. 🙂start with one room at a time, bathroom, kitchen see what can be reused first and foremost and then when they have reached the end of use dispose of it appropriately, then replace it with something which is kinder to the planet.
What is your favourite item you sell?
Favourite item I sell.... Hmmmm Klean Kanteens has to be one of them. The whole family have a few each for different things. They are so versatile for hot and cold items. So, soup cooked in the morning with still burn your tongue hours later! Or on days out with the kids we can put ice lollies in them, or ice cream and they will still be frozen. Another would be our eco coconut scourers they last for months and months! Non scratch, compostable so when they do come to an end, I pop them on our compost pile in our garden. Sea no waste has many items that are an alternative to plastic and new ones are getting created regularly. So, if you haven’t been, pop on in or check out our website and see what we have. We are still one of the biggest in Scotland and we keep adding lines at customers’ requests
