Enterprising duo hope to slash plastic waste

Alice Hooley and Laura Hayward are running Refill and Replenish after meeting through networking group Start Up Disruptors.

The pair, both 36, have already sold goods '“ including metal straws, shampoo and conditioner bars and food in reusable containers '“ at a market stall.

Alice, from Emsworth, said: '˜I watched Blue Planet at the start of the year and was pretty horrified about the state of the oceans.

'˜Being someone that lives near the sea, I walk my dogs there and all you see is plastic along the shoreline. Laura was already thinking about doing something to tackle this.

'˜I wanted to go on a crusade.'

Laura, from Waterlooville, added: '˜I had some personal events that made me realise that life is too short to not follow your passions.

It made me rethink about what I wanted to do with my career and the environment has always been my passion.'

The duo met for cof fee in May and have been planning the business since.

Alice added: '˜There was initially ideas for a shop, but we later decided on a stall that enabled us to move around and be mobile.'

Last week they set up a stall at Petersfield market where they won a warm reception.

In a joint statement they added: ' We hope it will get to a pre-order and pick up service like you do with the big supermarkets. We'd like to be somewhere where people grab their box for the week and head off.

'˜For now we obviously want to offer a really good service, so it's a balancing act between offering a good, quality service and meeting as many people as we can.

'˜I don't think the issue of single use plastic is going away and we want to help reduce this.'

Refill and Replenish operates every Friday at Waterlooville Market from 9am-4pm and every Wednesday in Petersfield Market from 9am-3pm. 

Businesses have been urged to play their part in cutting down on plastic waste in recent months.

 The News  has backed The Final Straw Solent's bid to boost the environment.

Restaurants and businesses have switched to plastic-free alternatives, including paper straws.

Beach cleans have been organised and the coastline combed over for trash.