by Kristen Cherry, Volunteer Writer
Two locally-owned businesses in the Nashville area are taking the bull of plastic waste by the horns. The Good Fill, located in East Nashville, and Sage Refill Market, near Nashville’s bustling 12South and Edgehill Village areas, offer bulk refills to customers looking to lower the one-and-done cycle that accompanies most cleaning and personal care products.
Amid waves of messages about single-use plastics, recycling has increased, but comes nowhere near the amount of plastic that heads to the landfill. The Environmental Protection Agency reported that as recently as 2017 over 70 million pounds of plastic were generated; over 50 million pounds of it went to the landfill.
Environmentally-conscious entrepreneurs like The Good Fill’s Megan Gill give consumers a way to break the habit.
Offering both consumable home products like shampoos and multi-purpose cleaners, as well as sustainable one-time purchases like bamboo kitchen gadgets, The Good Fill serves as that next big step toward a lower-to-zero-waste household.
The Good Fill’s southwesterly neighbor, Sage Refill Market, dedicates itself to providing natural bath, body, and home products both in sustainably packaged containers and in bulk from the shop’s refill stations. Visitors to the store, either in person or online, will find products from plastic-free ponytail holders to stretchy silicone “huggers’ that serve as an alternative to plastic wrap for hard-to-store items like those pesky grapefruit halves left over after breakfast.
More obvious plastic offenders--cleaning products, hair products, food storage--have a heavy and expected presence in refill stores, but there are plenty of less-expected items for the low-waste warrior. Among the ones just dying to be put in a mason jar: mouthwash tablets, wool dryer balls, and baking soda.
Though companies like Proctor & Gamble have set packaging sustainability goals, the deadlines are a long way off (2030); till then, it’s the habit that needs changing, but most people don’t know refill options exist until they make a concerted effort to find them. Once you have, the next step is using them. The great thing (besides helping the planet): these shops are dedicated to the cause. While they’re located in metropolitan areas, they make it easy for consumers, local or not, to access their products with local delivery and curbside pickup, online ordering options, and refill pouches that can be mailed back and forth.
Both shops can be found on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, but a good old fashioned phone call works, too. Try out the refill process and share it so we can quit the habit of plastic dependency.
Contact Kristen at kristenlwc@gmail.com.