Maryport artist encourages people to use 'refill shops'

Ursula Troche, of Maryport, is hoping to make people more environmentally conscious by using these eco-friendly stores. 

'Refill shops' are places where a customer can stock up on essentials, with anything from washing up liquid to fruit and vegetables, without using any plastic packaging. 

She explains that she uses one of these stores in Wigton called ReCa and also another in Cockermouth called Goodness and Grain. 

There are also shops in places like Keswick, Penrith, and Kendal. 

Ms Troche said: "I am an artist and I work with plastic packaging in my artwork, so I'm aware of how big the problem is, I'm also a climate champion for Cumbria Action for Sustainability. 

"It is through them that I found out about 'refill shops' which is a great opportunity to buy something without plastic. 

"I'm not involved with running them I just use them, they are plastic-free shops where you can buy items like muesli and grains without plastic. 

"It's a plastic-free initiative to reduce our waste and help to protect the climate."

Ursula says that there is an 'unbelievable amount' of plastic packaging contributing to the climate crisis daily. 

One of the ways she believes that people can tackle this in their everyday lives is by using shops that don't use plastic packaging. 

There are a growing number of 'refill shops' in Cumbria which Ursula says are 'really good' at addressing climate change by being sustainable and therefore ethical. 

She continued: "I'd like to see more of these shops appearing in Cumbria and the rest of the country. 

"It isn't exactly a new initiative, there was a shop some years ago in Whitehaven that isn't around anymore. So, we have seen places like this in our area for some time. 

"I think it's important that we support zero-carbon initiatives and I'd just like to make people aware that 'refill shops' do exist and that they are there to use."