Reduce your eco-footprint at Refill Zero Waste Market

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/11/2021 (575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

How can they only put out a bag of garbage once every six to eight months? That question was running through my head after I met Marisa and Cody, who own Refill Zero Waste Market at 634 Notre Dame Ave.

The young couple live in the West End and are really happy with their new store’s location, which is both close to home and conveniently located for city wide deliveries using one of Peg City Car Co-op’s hybrid cars.

Yes, they really have adopted (an almost) zero-waste lifestyle. They are passionate about sustainable living and the idea for the store grew from there.

I was at Refill Zero Waste Market on Oct. 29 for Auxvoir Style Collective’s clothing swap. The small space at the back of the store had been transformed with clothing racks and tables. Attendees from the surrounding neighbourhood and further afield had dropped off some of their own gently used garments and were leaving happily with others’ castoff treasures.

It was a lot of fun and fit perfectly with the zero-waste ethos of buying less and reusing items to keep them out of landfills. And by now the environmental degradation caused by fast fashion is well known…

Unpackaged, the first zero-waste store, opened in London, U.K., in 2007. Since then, the zero-waste movement has taken off.  Unfortunately, it isn’t practical for most of us as it requires a total lifestyle change and nowadays almost everything we use comes packaged in plastic.

The Refill Zero Waste Market takes some of the work out of living sustainably. As the name suggests, it’s BYOC (bring your own containers) to be refilled from over 150 liquid-bulk, eco-friendly home- and personal-care products. All are ethically sourced, free of harmful chemicals and whenever possible, made in Canada.

Surprisingly, once you take the plastic packaging out, many of the refilled products are comparable in price with those at big-box stores.  

If you are out of dishwashing liquid or detergent, the store may have what you need. It also has a large variety of packaging-free personal care products. Amazingly, it stocks 25 different solid shampoo and conditioner bars, including 10 of the very popular Jack 59 range.

You can also order online; deliveries go out on Wednesday evenings.

Visit refillmarket.ca to place orders, learn more about the trials and tribulations of a zero-waste lifestyle and be in the loop when they host more community events.

Auxvoir Style Collective can be found at auxvoir.ca.

Anne Hawe is a community correspondent for the West End. She can be reached at annie_hawe@hotmail.com