Kintyre Weigh Refill Shop

Kintyre Weigh exists to benefit the community by cutting down on rubbish creation, collection and processing, and to support those on a low income by removing packaging costs and allowing them to buy just the amounts they need. As a coastal community, we are very aware not only of the plastic waste that washes up on our beaches, but also, as one of 9 Scottish Climate Action Towns, we are facing a very real threat from rising sea levels. Kintyre Weigh wants to give people a space to be part of the conversation about these issues and a way to make manageable, everyday changes for a better future for all.

Kintyre Weigh aims to support Scotland’s Net Zero by 2045 target, as well as work for affordable food security in our rural and remote location. According to Zero Waste Scotland, the average Scottish household buys 130kg of single-use grocery packaging each year, at a cost of almost £250 (7% of the average grocery bill) and 70% of the UK’s food waste happens in households.

While the need to reduce waste and single-use packaging is understood by more and more people, much of what is available to buy in supermarkets is pre-packaged, leaving them with no opportunity to make a more environmentally-friendly choice. This feeds into a feeling of helplessness and a sense that the individual does not have any agency in the face of an increasingly depressing situation.

Kintyre Weigh’s zero waste/refill shop is a direct response to these urgent issues. We sell food & household products by weight to customers who bring their own containers or use ones other customers have donated. This supports local people to make an environmentally friendly choice for the long-term good of the planet.

We benefitted in developing our business plan, from the research and consultation that has been carried out by a number of organisations including South Kintyre Development Trust and Argyll and Bute Council, resulting in the development of the Campbeltown Community Action Plan for 2022-2027. The Plan identified both the impact of climate change and the need for good quality, sustainable employment and training opportunities, among the community’s key concerns, both issues which Kintyre Weigh seeks to address with the service it provides. The Plan was a direct trigger for the setting up of Kintyre Weigh.The priority to ‘reuse and reduce waste’ was one of eight key wishes for the area documented in the Plan.

Kintyre Alcohol and Drugs Advisory Service commented that climate change is already creating anxiety and mental health issues among Campbeltown’s young people, and in fact it is some of these young people who have stepped up to become regular volunteers in the shop. As Greta Thunberg has been quoted as saying, “hope comes from action – not the other way around.”

The shop does not pay anyone a wage yet, but we provide employment training & placements, in partnership with a local employability scheme, and aim to create some paid hours in the future. We currently benefiting from a wonderful small group of volunteers to open 6 days a week, several of whom are seeing their time with us as a benefit to their mental health, or a stepping stone to gain confidence & experience in a public facing role.

We offer a “community corner” space including comfortable seating, a noticeboard, info about various local projects and services, and free period products from My Tribe. We co-operate with local projects, supporting and promoting recent events such as the innaugural Climate Action film festival at our little independent cinema, and a Climate Action Activities Day where people brought toys, clothes, seeds, and books to swap, and we staffed one of a group of stalls promoting the local “circular economy” shops and services.

We have recently been given some funding via the Learning Exchange Programme for two of us to go visit the Handam Refill shop in Pitlochry, that was establlished much longer ago than us and that is now a successful going concern. We look forward to learning from their experience. We have also been engaging with Just Enterprise for business advice.

We are very excited about our shop and all its possibilities!