Following its incredible success in Burley in Wharfedale, Waste Not minimal waste shop is now opening a second store on Wells Road in Ilkley on 4 July. The new shop will provide accessible, ethical and sustainable alternatives to every day shopping needs, specialist foods, treats and beautiful gift ideas.
Waste Not owner, Charlotte Hawkins, has spent the last few years finding the best and truly ethical alternatives; from bamboo clothes pegs and cotton buds to beauty and cleaning products that are biodegradable, vegan, cruelty free, palm oil free, sulphate free and free of every other horrid substance and process.
In additional to the large selection of ‘help yourself’ dry foods that include specialist as well as day to day flours, herbs, spices, beans, pulses, coffees and teas, granola’s, nuts & dried fruit & vegan sweets (to name just a few).
Charlotte Hawkins said:
‘I want to make waste reduction accessible to all. Any changes no matter how small all add up to making a difference, and I don’t want there to be any barriers to this. If people don’t have time to make their own cleaning products, I want to be able to offer alternatives, that may not entirely eradicate plastic use, but drastically reduce it.
Everyone has different commitments in their life and budget constraints, but if everyone does all they can personally manage then we are moving in the right direction.
I am really excited to be opening in Ilkley. I want to do as much as I can in the local community and beyond to encourage waste reduction.
I welcome all input, so if anyone has any projects we can get involved with, or there is anything you would like to be available please get in touch.’
COVID-19 procedures will be in place at the Ilkley store. This will include: customers being asked to wear a facial mask, observing 2m social distancing at all times, only two customers in the shop at a time, hand sanitiser will be mandatory (available at the door), customers to use wide brimmed containers for refilling.
What gave Charlotte the idea for Waste Not?
Charlotte's determination, understanding of the market and environmental insight is at the heart of Waste Not and that is what provides the community with everything it needs to drive change.
Charlotte has always been conscientious of the environment, but since having children it really made her realise how very important it is to look after it (and how much waste a small child can make).
Charlotte, and her family had already made lots of changes at home, such as switching to reusable nappies and wipes, bamboo tooth brushes, reusable sandwich wraps, shampoo, conditioner and facial wash bars etc. But she found the real difficulty was sourcing food packaging free. There simply was nowhere local to buy pasta or rice for example without packaging.
Two years ago Charlotte decided enough was enough and she went about setting up her own pop up stall in Burley in Wharfedale. This also enabled her to help others in her local community to buy plastic free goods. The support and response was incredible and after having taken part in just three market events she had decided to set up Waste Not shop.
2018 Charlotte also landed her dream job working on the Refill Campaign, contributing to its growth into a global movement. This was a perfect opportunity for Charlotte and over the following years she would gain invaluable knowledge and insight to help prevent plastic pollution, combat climate change, help the environment and also help provide a better future for children and communities.
Charlotte soon outgrew her little shop and in 2019 she moved to a larger premises on Main Street Burley in Wharfedale. The bigger, current premises enables many more customers including a significant amount from the surrounding areas. Soon those who travelled started asking if she would consider opening a shop in Ilkley. After a long time planning and with lots of consideration, Charlotte is doing just that.