WOKINGHAM’S first zero waste shop opened in the town centre on Saturday, making it easy for residents to buy ethically.
Maya’s Refillables started as a stall in the market place, expanding to other areas, including Woodley, to meet demand.
In her first month of trading, owner Maya Gheorghe refilled 375 containers. Now, it is more than 1,600. The shop allows her to expand her range.
The sustainability champion wants to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic, and help Wokingham order sustainable and ethically-made goods such as bamboo toothbrushes, loofahs, soap and plastic-free make-up removal pads.
The new store means that rather than waiting for her market days, shoppers can stock up when they wish.
Wokingham Town Mayor Cllr Tony Lack performed the opening ceremony to declare the zero-waste store open.
“Our market has a long and proud history with a wonderful mix of established traders and new enterprises,” he said.
“We are always keen to support new businesses, see them flourish and spread their wings. Maya has done just that.
“Her positivity, can-do attitude, and desire to help the planet one refill at a time has enabled her business to expand across other markets, online and now into a retail store here in town.
“We would like to thank Maya for putting her faith in our town and we wish her every success for the future.”
And Maya said: “The opening was a success. We’ve been so busy, I’ve had to go and get more supplies.
“People were queuing to get in from when we opened at 10am right through 2pm. It was non-stop.
“We’re really, really pleased with how it went, it’s a real vote of confidence for the concept.”
And it wasn’t just her regular customers who came along on the day.
“There were lots of new faces,” she said. “People are interested and wanted to know more about what we do.”
Now the store is open, Maya is looking ahead, saying there was plenty of room in store to expand the range and, as the summer goes on, she plans to run events such as talks and information evenings to make it easier for people to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. She also hopes to link up community groups.
