Food refill van promises 'zero effort' shopping

Most people want to reduce the amount of single-use plastic packaging they use, but some struggle to prioritise this while shopping, according to the co-founder of a Cambridgeshire zero waste company.

Alice Lightowlers, 33, said she and her partner set up VanJarred Refillery, a mobile shop selling food and toiletries without packaging, last year after "a lot of the more sustainable, zero waste shops in Cambridge closed down".

Their focus was on convenience, because "people tend to put their plastic waste to the back of their mind," Ms Lightowlers said.

The van tours markets and business parks in and around Cambridge and delivers directly to people's homes.

Shoppers place their items into their own containers or use either donated containers kept at the van or compostable paper bags.

Most of the fare is bought in from Suma and Infinity, two British-owned wholefoods wholesalers which specialise in vegan, vegetarian and organic foods.

Other products are made by local suppliers, including Cambridge Honeybees, Hot Numbers Coffee and Peichin's Table, which produces Asian-inspired sauces and condiments.

Essentials such as pasta, olive oil and toilet roll sit next to vegan pick-n-mix sweets, natural deodorant and dog shampoo bars in the van.

Whether VanJarred's prices can compete with supermarkets "really depends on what you get", Ms Lightowlers said, with herbs, spices, fruit and nuts on the cheaper end and local produce often on the more expensive end.

"If you shop organic it's probably cheaper to go to a refill shop because there is a bit of a premium on it in the supermarkets," she said.

The prices for all their products are listed on the company's website, with organic porridge oats at 35 pence per 100g and organic lentils at 60 pence per 100g, for example.

Ms Lightowlers met her partner Cedric while working at a biotech start-up in Cambridge.

Their second-hand electric van now stops at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Wellcome Campus, Babraham Campus, Clay Farm and Burwash Larder every week.

It began trading in September last year, before beginning its "zero waste, zero effort" doorstep delivery service in March.

Customers choose their products online then leave out containers for VanJarred to fill on its routes, which begin in Cambridge and span out as far as Cottenham, Fulbourn, Harston and Cambourne.

Ms Lightowlers said recycling helps people push their plastic use to the back of their minds, but that it is "quite sad how little of the plastic we put into our recycling bins is actually recycled".

Government figures suggest the UK recycling rate for waste from households stands at about 45%. Globally, less than 10% of all plastic ever produced has been recycled.

Their venture is "getting more and more popular", Ms Lightowlers said.

"It's something that I think everyone is interested in, in the back of their minds, but often I think it's difficult to prioritise," she said.

"So it's about just getting out there and explaining to people how easy it is to make the switch."

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