Awesome.Wales, the Vale of Glamorgan's first Zero-Waste shop, is set to open on Holton Road in Barry, on the 29th of June. Owners, Amy Greenfield and Stuart Burnell, spoke to Nub News about their plastic free journey and what Awesome.Wales will have to offer. 

Amy and Stuart, who were inspired by the BBC's Blue Planet documentary, wanted to take action against single-use plastic. Their time working in Hope dog rescue centre makes them experienced providers of a community service. They have found it frustrating that they couldn't source their own plastic free shopping locally and so they decided to open their own store. The aims of their Zero-Waste store will be to provide plastic free shopping at an affordable price.

Amy said, ''the way we are falling at the moment is that we want everything to be plastic free, that's sort of a given. Then affordability comes in next. When we're open and we start seeing what people want, if there are certain products people want organic then we can do those.''

The plans for the store are extensive. ''We will have about 30 core products, maybe on rotation, which everyone can afford to come in and buy,'' says Stuart. ''We want everyone from MPs to families of 15 to shop here.''

The shop will boast a range of food items including: 60 different herbs and spices, 100 lines of dried fruit, fresh fruit and veg, fresh bread sourced from Penarth, wax wrapped cheese from Snowdonia, local milk and a variety of staple grocery items. Customers are encouraged to bring their own containers but there will be a few in store for those that come without.  

Amy adds: ''we are going to have a jar deposit scheme as well, so if people have extra sauce or glass jars they can bring them in and then we will sterilise them and reuse them for those that pop in on the off-chance. We will also have recycled paper bags for spices and things.'' The store will also have barrels of laundry detergent and washing up liquid so that shoppers can come and refill their empty bottles. 

''The shop will also stock lots of solid soaps, shampoo bars and that kind of thing as well. We also had a lady come in from Rhoose who owns beehives. She is going to be making wax wraps for us. There will also be tea towels and aprons. She is a lecturer in design so she does her own prints which means the actual designs are unique as well, which is really nice.''  The store also has an alternative to supermarket plastic carrier bags. ''We are going to sell produce bags that a lady is making in Pontypridd out of recycled fabrics,'' says Amy. What's the bigger vision? ''Our purpose is to allow people to access a zero waste lifestyle to save the environment. It doesn't need to cost you a bomb to do so'' is how Amy sums it up. Stuart makes a different point: ''If you go to certain other zero waste stores it can feel quite elitist. We don't want that in here because it's not the sort of town we live in.'

But what about the business and the need to make a profit? ''Because we're set up as a community interest company we're not particularly interested in profit," says Amy. "We have to be profitable because we have to exist but we're not interested in generating huge profits.  For a lot of our stock we will actually be cheaper because we aren't using packaging. For things like herbs and spices that you buy in glass jars, about 50-60% of your cost is going on the container.''

Stuart adds: ''if you were to buy basil in a glass jar from a supermarket it'll be about £1.60, from here it will be 12p.'' 

Some customers will also no doubt appreciate that they can buy smaller quantities if that's all they need. ''Wastage is one of the biggest issues with supermarket food and we want to change that,'' says Stuart.

The couple have also gone to great lengths to make the shop accessible to everyone. Amy explains: ''We've had loads of people in with wheelchairs and with buggies testing the space, making sure it all works. We've reshuffled our design around based on their comments.''

They have also taken steps to ensure that they provide for different dietary requirements. There will be items for vegans and those with food intolerances. ''Although dairy will be on-site, people that do have vegan diets will find more things here that are suitable for them," says Amy. ''At the moment you have to buy a lot of vegan produce online so you have quite a high carbon footprint for delivery but now you can come and collect it here.

A coffee shop will also operate at the back of the store. This involves a partnership with the Uncommon Ground from Pontypridd who will also train Awesome's baristas and supply all their machinery. ''Our coffee shop will offer vegan milk and our cake supplier, Poppylicious of Barry, will provide vegan items.'' Will there be Awesome events? ''At back we have a big communal table. So, a 12 seater to get people to actually talk to their neighbours and add to the sense of community. There will be a flip down table on the side for workshops and community events, says Amy. The ideas include

cooking classes, a breastfeeding club, book clubs, films and workshops. They are also eager to host a Repair Cafe, where visitors can help each other repair household items. ''Barry residents have been asking for a repair cafe for months if not years but there has been nobody to sort of take ownership of it,'' says Amy.

''Local artists are going to be displaying work on our walls, hung from the shop's original butchers hooks. They will take all the commission from that because it is for the community''

Some local people have even contributed to the costs of opening the business. The names of contributors are displayed on a blackboard near the store entrance. ''We are running a crowdfund at the moment. This is running for another two weeks and we definitely need some more contributions for that' says Amy. A lot of effort has gone into discovering what local people would like to find at Awesome.''We did a survey online that's had around 800 responses," says Amy. "It's funny because the first question on the survey is 'have you ever heard of or shopped in a zero waste shop?' and the answer is overwhelmingly 'no.'

"Then we go through a description of all the things we will be selling, asking what type of things do you want to buy and what events do you want to come to. This got lots of positive responses. 

''And then, the last question is ''now you've heard about what we're going to do are you interested?''. I think we had 94% positive response to that final question. So, to go from the beginning where 90% of people didn't know what it was to them wanting it to happen is a really positive step from a 3 minute survey,'' says Amy.

Awesome.Wales launches on the 29th of June and will be open from 7am-7pm.

To donate to the Crowd funder and discover more about the project please click the button below.