Low Waste Shopping Guide

Two of the easiest places to reduce plastics are in your kitchen pantry and in your personal care routine. And that’s why you’re lucky to live in Asheville. We have many stores that offer alternatives to plastic packaging and let you bring your own containers to refill your laundry detergent, shampoo, soap, peanut butter, flour, quinoa, and SO much more. ​

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According to the Bulk is Green Council, the average shopping cart of 10 plastic products refilled over a year keeps 118 pieces of packaging out of the landfill. That means, a family of 4 could eliminate 472 pieces of packaging. If every resident in Buncombe County switched to buying bulk, we could eliminate 3 million pieces of packaging from landing in our landfill. Since packaging accounts for 40 percent of all plastic produced, eliminating some (extra credit: try for all) of your packaging can drastically shrink the pile of plastic waste you create by the end of the year.

Peruse our low waste local shopping guide to find out where you can get bulk food, personal care items, and cleaning supplies. All of these places are BYOC friendly – bring your own container. Personally, I like to reuse glass jars and plastic tubs for bulk food items and cleaning items. I use old shampoo/conditioner bottles for personal care supplies, as well as old yogurt tubs! So the next time you finish up some peanut butter, be sure to hold onto that jar, so you can refill it with some delicious local granola from the French Broad Food Coop! 

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A few of our refill locations in Asheville and what they specifically offer: 

1. Our MYPM partner Ware provides many bulk personal care items (e.g., lotion/ shampoo/conditioner/soap/toothpaste tablets) and home items (e.g., laundry detergent/dish soap/cleaning spray), as well as some more fun zero plastic products. You can bring your own container or use one of Ware’s free reusable containers. 
2.  To The Brim Refill Store also offers bath and body products, as well as cleaning products. 
3. The French Broad Food Co-op  and West Village Market offer extensive bulk food options, including grains, nuts, flours, herbs and spices, teas and coffees, freshly ground peanut and almond butter, and more! Other grocery stores, such as Whole Foods and Hopey, also offer many bulk items. 

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It’s certainly not easy to completely avoid plastic packaging, but shopping in bulk with a reusable container is one of the easiest ways to cut your plastic waste. 
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Use our shopping guide to keep plastic packaging out of your life and off of our planet!

By Livia Charles, Sustainability Coordinator at Asheville GreenWorks