Bristol is one of the UK’s most vibrant cities, known for its green rolling hills and equally green initiatives. In 2015, it was a European Green Capital and is an official Gold Sustainable Food City. From the Bristol Bike Project to the Bristol Fair Trade Network, Bristolians are tackling their collective carbon footprint head-on.

There to help them on their stroll toward more sustainable living are some of the best zero waste shops Bristol offers.

The city boasts one of the highest numbers of zero waste shops in the UK, a close second to the number of zero waste shops in London.

So whether you’ve been zero waste for years or the Bristol World newspaper’s Plastic Free July collab last year introduced you to the plastic problem, these no plastic shops in Bristol can help you kick your plastic habit clear across the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Exploring Zero Waste Stores Bristol

  1. Scoop Wholefoods Jump to store
  2. Preserve Jump to store
  3. Smaller Footprints Jump to store
  4. Zero Green Jump to store
  5. Scoopaway Jump to store
  6. Good & Proper Zero Jump to store
  7. Southville Deli Zero Waste Jump to store
  8. Nom Wholefoods Jump to store

Scoop Wholefoods

Image by Scoop Wholefoods (zero-waste-shops-bristol)

Launched in 2019, Scoop Wholefoods is one of the newer zero waste stops Bristol has. The owners are a husband and wife team, and they have two defined missions: to improve people’s health and well-being and safeguard the planet for future generations.

They strive to offer Bristolites a convenient, one-stop-shop stocked with locally sourced products from independent suppliers. If local is not possible, wholefoods are imported from the world’s best and most ethical suppliers.

Scoop only stocks products in reusable or compostable packaging, including a massive range of items available in bulk such as nuts, flour, muesli, herbs, pasta, rice, sugar, tea, coffee, and dried fruit—like antioxidant berry mix to fuel your upcoming weekend walk on the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail. You’ll also find refillable oils, vinegars, pickles, and nut butters, and plastic-free bathroom and household essentials.

As well as shopping in person at their no-plastic shops in Bristol and Bath, you can also shop online. Orders can be collected from the store the next day or delivered to your home.

Preserve

Image by Preserve (zero-waste-shops-bristol)

Preserve is a family-owned small business with sites dotted across the city, from Gloucester Road and Westbury Hill to Church Road and East Street. No matter which location is more convenient to you, you can browse the expansive shelves, filling reusable containers and paper bags as you go, or take advantage of the shop’s click-and-collect system.

Preserve’s waste free shops in Bristol offer organic snacks and affordable food that supports sustainable food systems. Tiriel (the owner) has a wide range of products. from baking ingredients, herbs and spices, nuts, fruit, and seeds, to pasta, oils and vinegars, pulses, tea, coffee, toiletries, and more.

All dried goods come packed in recyclable brown paper bags. For liquid purchases, you can choose a new prefilled glass bottle, or purchase a refill.

Smaller Footprints

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Grant is the name behind this zero waste shop in Bristol. Smaller Footprints’ ethos is simple: to avoid single-use packaging to leave smaller footprints on our earth.

You simply take along your clean and empty containers, weigh them, fill them, weigh them again, and pay for the difference.

The product range includes rice, pasta, cereals, beans, nuts, chocolate, herbs, spices, loose teas, coffee beans, honey, cooking oils, flour, sugar, zero waste cleaning products, and a range of non-food personal care items. You can even grind your own nut butter and coffee, sourced from fair trade, Rainforest Alliance, and Soil Association organic certified sources like Wogan Coffee.

Zero Green

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Zero Green was one of the first zero waste stores to delight Briz Vegas residents. The shop cordially invites you to join the Refill Revolution. Their mission is to empower customers to “live an Earth-friendly, plastic free, and zero waste lifestyle….to help minimise the use of packaging that is polluting this beautiful planet”.

Zero Green’s charming rustic interior boasts all kinds of zero waste foodstuffs, like baking ingredients, cereals, dried fruits, condiments and sauces, nut butter and jam, nuts and seeds, oils and vinegar, pasta and grains, pulses and beans, tea, coffee, chocolate, and more.

But that’s the start for this plastic-free shop. Bristol residents can also find refillable personal care liquids (like Grapefruit + Aloe body wash refills from Miniml and shampoo and conditioner bars and more from Bristol-based maker Wild Grove) or shop for package-free solid alternatives and everyday reusable products.

You can drop off your containers at their zero waste store in Bristol in the morning and pick up your order later the same day.

Don’t forget to top your water bottles and reusable coffee cups to fill at their small coffee shop. If you do forget (don’t worry, we all do once in a while) their takeaway cups are made of edible biscuits (!) designed to complement your coffee experience.

Scoopaway

Image by Scoopaway (zero-waste-shops-bristol)

Owned by husband and wife team Tim and Sam, Scoopaway is an independent health food and low waste shop located in the heart of Bristol.

The store’s best-selling lines can be purchased loose. Drop by with your clean containers and scoop away to your heart’s content. With over 300 “scoop” items, choose from a vast selection of spices, grains, pulses, cereals, rice, sugars, and dried fruit. There’s also local, freshly roasted zero waste tea and freshly roasted coffee for a more sustainable cuppa.

This natural and organic wholefoods retailer deals only with ethical suppliers who can guarantee their food is free from genetic modification.

Good & Proper Zero

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Clare is the founder of Good and Proper Zero, an online shop that provides a sustainable subscription service for people seeking climate-kind products delivered directly to their door. The original idea for the shop was for customers to bring their containers and fill them with items they wanted. However, Covid19 and the rising cost of living took its toll. Not to be disheartened, Clare decided to concentrate her efforts on developing an online shop instead.

You can find a wide range of products at this plastic-free online shop. Sustainable skincare, haircare, and bathroom products are all available in reusable or recyclable containers rather than plastic. In the household category, there are laundry and dishwasher products, candles, diffusers, stationery, wheat bags, and fun pet supplies that include a “paw-licking” carrot cake dog treat baking mix in a reusable bottle.

Home for this zero waste shop is not Bristol, but it’s a mere stones-throw away on the Bristol Channel coast in Weston-super-Mare.

Southville Deli Zero Waste

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Southville Deli Zero Waste is a champion of local produce that provides Bristolians with an opportunity to shop plastic-free.

As well as plenty of local produce, such as bread and pastries from Bristol’s very own Hernbert’s Bakery and local goats or sheep’s cheeses from Somerset Cheese Co, you’ll find a range of sustainably sourced, minimally packaged items. While not a strictly no-plastic shop in Bristol, Southville Deli boasts a range of compostable or reusable packaged cupboard staples, in addition to those customers can purchase in their own containers.

Their bulk range includes pasta, rice, flour, dried fruit, and nuts, to be filled in customers’ own containers or via store-provided recycled and recyclable paper bags.

If you love waking up to a cup of piping hot coffee as you look out over the sea, you’ll love their wide range of various roasts.

Nom Wholefoods

Image by Nom Wholefoods (zero-waste-shops-bristol)

The idea for Nom Wholefoods came about following a Bristol couple’s realisation that local friends wanted easy access to food without single-use packaging just like them. This Bristol waste-free shop’s initial location is Nikki and Matt’s home, however, it wasn’t long before they needed to expand operations. They found the right premises in Staple Hill and opened a shop for the convenience of customers.

Shoppers can choose packaging on 80% of Nom’s product range which includes beans and pulses, cereals and breakfasts, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices, flour and baking ingredients, pasta, rice, grains, and more. They also carry hard-to-find items in low waste packaging, like oat milk and other sustainable milk alternatives in glass bottles, which can be returned and refilled.

A major supplier in the store is the vegetarian and vegan wholefoods brand, Essential. They are one of the largest worker co-operatives in the UK and a wholefood market pioneer. Essential specialities include ethically produced, organic, Fairtrade, and ‘Free From’ food sourced from all over the world, and never by air freight.

Liquid refills are also available for laundry liquid, washing-up liquid, bathroom products, cleaning vinegar, and olive oil.

If you visit the Nom website before you place your order online or trot to the shop, there’s a handy packaging page that discusses the environmental impact of different packaging options. In October 2020, Nom was awarded the Plastic Free Champion award from Surfers Against Sewage plastic-free communities.