Waste and pollution is a massive problem all over the globe, and something that is killing the planet we live on with each passing second. U.S. society is no exception to this concept, if not one of the worst examples.
A chief contributor to this issue, particularly within the country’s economy, is consumerism: the economically and socially driven belief that it is both desirable and societally progressional to continually consume and purchase goods.
The typical life that people live within a capitalistic society is a rat-race. Money is a necessity, so jobs are sought, and then that money is spent on a wide assortment of products, so more money is needed because it was spent, and then the loop starts over again. When living in a repeating process like this, something that has been so normalized, it is sometimes hard to pinpoint an area where you can improve the routine, whether for yourself or some activisional cause.
Across professional, social, and personal lives, the average U.S. citizen produces 1,704 pounds of trash annually. So, as the United States approaches landfill capacity, there is definitely room for massive improvement regarding the way that we treat our environment. Refill stores have managed to become a primary stepping stone in that movement.
Refill stores, or refilleries, also referred to as a lengthy, different medley of names like “no-waste” stores and “co-ops,” are facilities where people can bring in their own reusable containers to fill them with all kinds of products, household and consumable, rather than purchasing materials in new containers. The pricing is usually scaled by variables such as weight or volume. Additionally, most places also offer containers for purchase if customers do not already own one.
The facilities are meant to cut down on waste from the continued repurchasing of plastic containers, like shampoo bottles, clip casing around cooked chickens, and bleach containers. As of now, consumer packaging has been recorded to make up roughly 28% of U.S. landfills.
Different versions of the facilities exist for an array of purposes, such as food, cleaning, or general groceries, with ones selling care and household products in bulk being the most common.
Statistically, they perform as intended, from the overwhelming public support toward reducing plastic pollution, to the proven decrease, for example, of 25% of food waste in some regions by relevant retailers. The industry itself is changing for the better, but more locations are needed to truly combat the current, consuming landscape of consistent trash production.
The only downsides from the facilities stem from the change in user experience and the concern of cleanliness that stems from it, akin to that of any other publicly-used space.
Compared to grabbing an item off of a shelf at your typical supermarket, refilleries require more intentional shopping, and focus, than the mindless muscle-memory actions of the former. Additionally, the process of repeatedly refilling the same container with conditioner bi-monthly could prove to be physically exhausting. Well, about as tiring as pushing a kid in a swing, but it’s still a change from the ease of a grocery store.
Arguably, the largest concern of any version of a refill store stems from the struggle with cleanliness, particularly in hygiene-oriented refilleries. The stores require careful, precise cleaning and care from the people meant to maintain them, as well as compliance in the responsibility of the customer to bring in a completely clean container to the store, in order to keep the facilities hygienically safe for all. While there is not always contaminating contact, the risk of germs stems from that possibility in itself.
Despite this, though, the positives of refill stores outweigh the negatives by a long shot, and can seriously improve our environment if they are implemented on a much, much wider scale. As more locations move to adapt one into their environment, that is the time for when alterations can be made, testing along the way to see what works and what doesn’t, toward making the facilities more hygienically safe, as well as efficient, and all-around better.
While their intention of being more green applies to every part of the globe, most refilleries are currently focused and located within urban centers. The percentage of counties that have at least one is unknown, but there are an estimated 600 to 1,300 refill stores and adjacent businesses (such as grocery co-ops, bulk stores, and no-waste stores) currently located throughout the U.S.
In hindsight, this may sound like a big, considerable statistic. And, it’s certainly not bad in that regard, but when compared to the estimated 212,000 fast food restaurants across the states, it’s fractional. Additionally, it brings up the fact that while rural areas are less densely populated compared to urban centers, with a lot fewer people producing waste, there is an existing need for more accessibility to refilleries in less urban areas as well.
The few concerns that the plausible, user-friendly solution provides are not enough to excuse the irreparable damage that the environment faces, and will continue to, if nothing within our nation’s societies change.
Creating a refillery is not a more burdensome process above anything related to the process of developing any typical business, and money could come from many, many locations depending on the preference of creation. Funding could come from grants, supportive pro-environment groups, statewide issues, and many other things.
As for adding one to Delaware, whether an independent business or another branch of a nearby pre-existing location, such as the Reduce & Reuse Refillery in Dayton, Ohio, it could be placed in one of the available buildings downtown, or faceted into a house near them, like what was done with Delaware Eyes.
While the financial aspect of this all depends on individual business preferences, the infrastructure part of establishing a refillery or something adjacent anywhere is not complicated in itself. There is a wide array of versions, and a range of potential for display mediums, to the point where the stores have been found in their own buildings, simply occupying pre-existing ones, or even in a frequent outdoor setup at farmers’ markets.
Humans have to start somewhere, and we can learn how to improve from that launch-point once that has begun. More communities across the country should gain a new, local store, whether built, set up regularly outdoors, or inhabiting an existing facility, within the no-waste umbrella term, to aid the effort of preserving the environment.
