by Nancy Smith Seigle

In the early 1990s, Tina Solak was bringing reusable bags to the grocery store and getting strange looks from the checkout people for what’s now an expected practice.

Fast forward to 2021. That’s when this long-time, committed environmentalist launched The Refill Market, in Haddon Township. “I was first inspired by a refill store I visited out of the area,” she says. “I knew then I wanted to bring low-waste shopping to my own community.”

Education and encouragement are key. “It can be very overwhelming at first for people to begin thinking about the devastating consequences something like plastic has for our planet,” Solak adds. With less than 10 percent of plastic recycled, it takes hundreds of years for each item to break down. This means every single piece of plastic ever manufactured still exists.

For those that want to learn more about reducing waste, but don’t know how, Solak advises, “Start small, but start somewhere.”

And The Refill Market is a great place to begin. Customers can bring their own clean, dry and empty reusable containers (or purchase them at the store). The next step is weighing and labeling each empty container, then filling up with product and weighing it again, subtracting the weight of the empty container. This way customers pay for the products only.

The facility offers a wide array of high-quality products including bath and personal care items, kitchen, laundry and cleaning products, as well as baby and pet care items. Everything from liquid hand soap, sanitizer, shampoo, conditioner and body soap to lip and cheek tint, toothpaste, dental floss and sunscreen is available. “Our products are all natural, mild and good for the whole family. We have a baby barrier balm that is very popular and effective,” she says. “We also have a nice variety of unique gift items for sale.”

The forward-thinking, planet-friendly store also provides onsite recycling of certain otherwise-would-be-trash items for their customers, such as crayons, writing instruments, oral care products, razors, Brita filters, plastic bags, drink pouches and bottle caps and many others. It’s estimated they have already saved local landfills 7,000-plus plastic containers. Committed to informing, inspiring and educating others about waste reduction, Solak often gives tours of her facility, recently hosting a local Girl Scout troop.

A registered New Jersey Sustainable Business, The Refill Market also offers online shopping, a bottle-return program, curb-side pick-up and delivery to some areas.

Location: 10 Haddon Ave. For more information including on sustainable living and adopting low-waste practices, visit
www.TheRefillMarketNJ.com.