Bay Area refill shop tackles single-use plastic problem

In the San Francisco Bay Area, on the island of Alameda, six months ago, a small store opened up on Webster Street and already has quite a clientele.

“This is absolutely fantastic,” remarked Alameda resident Alejandra Rivard.

The shop is called Replenish Marketplace. It’s one of the Bay Area’s newest refill shops or “refillery”.

Refill shops allow customers to reuse their old containers to buy everyday essentials and personal care products.

At Replenish, customers who forget to bring their containers can grab one off the shelf from the store’s supply of community donated containers.

“It is a dream come true for me,” exclaimed Laria Pippen, the founder and owner of Replenish. She is also a pediatric nurse, who is concerned about plastic waste.

Pippen grew up in Berkeley and credits her mom for teaching her how to recycle before recycling was cool.

“There’s a lot out there about microplastics and the harms to our body. That said, we want to be, we want to be hopeful,” said Pippen.

While plastics are versatile and cheap to produce, they are ubiquitous and there is growing concern about its impacts on health and the environment.

“Personally, I don’t think it’s something we can ever get rid of, but we can definitely mitigate its imprint on the world,” said her husband, Stephan.

He said the store meets customers where they are in terms of their environmental journey.

“We’re here to work with people that’s what it all comes down to,” he said.

It is widely reported that the world produces over 400 million tons of plastic waste every year, which is enough to fill more than a million garbage trucks.

Less than 10% of that plastic ever gets recycled. Much of it ends up in landfills and waterways, where it can degrade into tiny microplastics.

The issue has become complex. Malaysia is now no longer accepting plastic waste from certain countries, including the United States.

Recology provides collection and processing services for many communities in California, and the company is clear how recycling plastics is very challenging. Unlike aluminum and glass, plastics can’t be recycled ad infinitum, and they often degrade.

At the Marin Sonoma facility, the blue bins often contain many different materials, and the workers and machinery separate the mixture into cardboard, different types of plastics, aluminum, tin, and steel. The materials that can be sold end up in bales.

“As recyclers, we’re trying very hard to recycle more plastics to get that percentage higher, but we can’t do it on our own,” said Recology public relations manager Robert Reed.

“We’re always trying to convince people to reduce how much they produce and how much they use,” added Logan Harvey, who is the senior general manager of Recology Sonoma/Marin.

The company’s facility in Santa Rosa was recently upgraded to a state-of-the-art Materials Recovery Facility, or MRF for short.

The facility processes more than 16,000 tons of plastics every year.

Both Reed and Harvey told CBS News Bay Area that they applaud the growing popularity of refill stores and that they are consistent with Recology’s principles.

“Yes, it’s great. They’re really a cool idea, very kind of back to basics,” said Harvey.

“At Recology, we absolutely love the refill stores,” added Reed.

Back at Replenish, some new customers were pleased with what they saw.

The Pippens vet all the products that they sell to make sure the ingredients are healthy for the planet and for humans. They also try to locally source as many items as they possibly can. They told CBS News Bay Area that by keeping their inventory local, it also cuts down on transportation costs, and that, too, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It also supports more local businesses.

“There’s something really special about being able to replenish items that you’re regularly buying without having to purchase a new container,” explained Ben Grundy.

The Pippens just want to give their community a fresh idea on how to approach plastic waste.

“Sometimes people just feel so overwhelmed with the plastics crisis and the climate crisis and they are just not sure where to start and we want to welcome people with open arms and say ‘Hey, we’re here to help and here are some ideas for you,'” said Laria.

“We make the difference, but it’s also our customers who make a difference,” added her husband.

And that’s filling the world with hope.

Partial list of other refill stores in the Bay Area:

ALAMEDA
Replenish Marketplace
https://replenishmarketplace.com/

OAKLAND
Re-Up Refill shop:
https://reuprefills.org/

SAN FRANCISCO
The Daisy Refillery
https://www.thedaisyrefillery.com

Rainbow Grocery Cooperative
https://rainbow.coop/

Simple SF
https://www.simple-sf.com/

BERKELEY
Fillgood
https://www.fillgood.co/

The Filling Station
https://fillingstationberkeley.com/

MORGAN HILL
FillerUpShop
https://thefillerupshop.godaddysites.com/

SAN JOSE
The Source Zero
https://www.thesourcezerosj.com/