Zero-Waste Store in Columbia has Saved Thousands of Plastic Containers from Landfills

Helping its community prevent plastic waste, The Clean Refill store allows customers to bring in their empty bottles and fill them with the store’s supplies.

The Clean Refill store in Columbia, Mo. Is a zero-waste store for home and body products. It sells various soaps, laundry detergent, lotion, and cleaning products aiming to reduce single-use plastic waste ending up in landfills.

"I knew a lot of my recycling wasn't getting recycled," said Leah Christian, The Clean Refill store owner. "Our bottles were building up around our house."

"Everything from laundry soap to dish, soap to shampoo and conditioner to face creams," Christian said. "Everything is sold by the ounce, and you can bring in your own container to reuse."

Customers bring in their empty containers to be weighed, then they can fill those containers with any of the store’s products. After which, the bottles will be weighed again at the register and paid for. If customers don’t have their own bottles, the store has some available for purchase.

The Clean Refill store opened back in February, just a few months before Columbia suspended curbside recycling pickup indefinitely.

Currently, the store has saved over 3,500 plastic containers from ending up in landfills. Christian has a goal to reach 43,000 plastic containers saved by the end of this year.

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