Twin Larder Zero Waste Shop
Twin Larder is a Zero Waste Shop that promotes the sale of sustainable, eco-friendly, cruelty-free & ethical products. The shop asks its users to “RETHINK . REUSE . REFILL”, Ash Parish News met with the owner, Karla Reynolds, in her shop on Guildford Road in Ash to find out more.
How does a zero-waste shop help the environment?
It helps the environment in a way that does not require the production of new packages, which need resources and energy. If we already have stuff at home that we can reuse, then it makes sense to do that rather than make new packages. For example, if you have 25kg of rice, and instead of buying 1kg of rice needing 25 packages. You buy what you need and take it home in a reusable container.
How do you shop at Twin Larder?
As you come in you weigh your containers before you fill them. You then fill as much as you need. When you have finished you then bring it to the till or use our self-service scales to re-weigh it again.
Do you just sell food?
We have all sorts of stuff, from household cleaning products, everyday essentials for your pantry essentials, baking essentials, and treats as well. We have all sorts!
Why did you open Twin Larder?
We live locally in Ash and there was nowhere near that had a Zero Waste shop. It was a growing concern in our household seeing all the waste we were accumulating as a family. That’s how it started.
Can any containers be used?
You can bring in all sorts of containers, so long as it’s clean and suitable for what you are refilling. We do have paper bags but it’s not very suitable for liquids! It’s best to bring in what you already have and home, and reuse them.
Is there a minimum purchase size?
You can buy as little or as much as you need. For example, if you want to try a new recipe and you need a teaspoon of this and a teaspoon of that. Why buy a whole bag of it that will sit in the cupboard for years!?
Why open a Zero Waste shop in Ash?
The idea for the Zero Waste shop came from the need for my own family, as there was not a shop like this close by. It was mainly inspired by my daughters who are twins, hence “Twin Larder”. It was a growing concern in our family seeing the amount of packaging we were going through. We thought that surely we cannot be the only ones that think this is a problem.
I live locally, literally just a few yards away, and so this location is convenient for me. We used to live abroad and when we came back to the UK we put our roots down and in Ash and so opening the shop here just made sense.
Where is Twin Larder?
You’ll find us on the border of Hampshire and Surrey, and we are among the growing community of zero waste shops in the country. We are open Wednesday to Saturday 10am-2pm.
Twin Larder, 57 Guildford Rd, Ash, Aldershot GU12 6BQ
You can also follow us on social media, https://www.facebook.com/TwinLarder
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