Meet the husband and wife team, Dom and Sam Moleta who have recently opened Joburgs first single-use plastic-FREE Grocery store – The Refillery in Cedar Square Shopping Centre.

The couple met in Antibes, France back in 2010 where they spent their time working on Super Yachts in the Med. “An amazing way to see the world from another perspective but sadly it was also an eye opener to see the floating destruction by plastic and rubbish” explains Sam.  They would venture to uninhabited islands around the world but yet they were still covered in rubbish. This was a huge contributing factor for them when starting The Refillery.

Dom explains that ‘having kids was a turning point, we wanted our kids to have the same opportunities to travel the world and see all the amazing places we saw; but if something isn’t done about single use plastics then there wont be much to see’. We kept saying “Someone will do something” but eventually they realised that they actually had to do something – something big.

The Refillery is a trendy style of shopping where consumers are encouraged to bring in their own containers/jars/bottles/Tupperware or whatever vessel you have and bring it in-store to REFILL! You can also make use of their complementary recycled brown paper bags to fill up and then later decant at home into your pantry or purchase their jars and bottles in store. It’s  a simple Weigh and Pay system where there are no minimums and you can purchase in whatever quantity you need. “People have found that they end up saving much more than expected as you are only buying in the quantities you actually need and consume” says Sam.

Stylish | Convenient | Accessible

The Refillery stocks everything from oils and vinegars, rice and pasta, beans and pulses, tea’s and coffee to a wide range of flours, dried fruit and nuts and even superfoods such as Spirulina  or baobab powder. They also offer cleaning products and toiletries in a refillable option, not to mention a wide variety of Zero Waste Lifestyle items such as shampoo bars, bees wax wraps, dish covers or reusable produce bags. All these items help making going ‘plastic-free’ that little bit easier.

“The solution isn’t solely in recycling” explains Dom “We need to consume less and consume in a more sustainable manner.”  Their first bricks and mortar store opened in March this year and has impressed ‘Joburgers’ with its stylish, clean and trendy aesthetics. The staff at The Refillery are knowledgeable and always keen to help where needed. They also have an online store and deliver nationwide for that added convenience.

Take a stand against Single-Use Plastics and choose to reuse, choose to refill and create a more circular economy with less waste for a more sustainable future.

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