Kettering town centre's first refill shop set to open

Shop staff say the town is 'crying out' for one
The Refill Van team: (L-R) Adam Mattacola (holding Florence), Emma Mattacola (holding Isaac) and Tarn BayesThe Refill Van team: (L-R) Adam Mattacola (holding Florence), Emma Mattacola (holding Isaac) and Tarn Bayes
The Refill Van team: (L-R) Adam Mattacola (holding Florence), Emma Mattacola (holding Isaac) and Tarn Bayes

Those who want to cut down on their use of plastic will soon have a new place to shop when a refill store opens in Kettering

Refill Van at The Yards is hosting its grand opening from 12.30pm to 5.30pm on Saturday, May 1, at their unit in the Market Street shopping complex.

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Shoppers bring their own reusable containers to fill them with loose products they want, reducing the amount of single-use plastic they buy.

The shop's opening comes less than a year after founder Tarn Bayes launched the Rushden-based Refill Van with Adam Mattacola and his wife Emma, offering package-free goods from the back of their mobile van. The van travels to small communities, pubs, libraries and more around the county and will continue to operate when the shop opens.

Director of social media and marketing Emma, 33, said Kettering was 'crying out' for a refill shop of its own.

She said: "The opportunity came to get set up at The Yards and we were delighted to take it. It's a really cool little community and there's quite a few new traders there who have welcomed us.

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"We found that Kettering was crying out for a refill shop and being in the town centre is amazing. There's some brilliant independent businesses there and because of the pandemic many people are looking to shop local."

There's just a handful of refill shops in the county and Refill Van at The Yards is the first in Kettering's town centre.

Shoppers can bring their own jars, bags and containers and fill them with exact weights of dry foods such as pasta, rice, beans, lentils, dried fruit and nuts.

There will also be loose teas and coffee beans - with a grinder for those who need it - as well as toothpaste tabs, shampoo, body washes and Finedon-made cleaning liquids, all of which are cruelty-free. A lot of the store's items will be sourced locally.

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Emma said the world had had a "big wake-up call" when it comes to the environment, with many shocked by pictures of the planet's seas filled with plastic.

She said: "The big companies are producing ridiculous amounts of plastic and a lot of it goes in the bin.

"We can all make small steps in cutting the amount of plastic we use.

"We can't sort everything out overnight, but bit by bit it will make a difference and refill stations really help that."

The shop's initial opening hours will be from midday to 5pm on Fridays, 11am to 5.30pm on Saturdays and 11am to 4pm on Sundays.

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