Zero Waste in Dunedin City and Clutha District

Our heartfelt gratitude to Sugarcube Studios, for bringing our guides to life – designing a map for us and creating such joyful imagery to go with it!

The following shops sell unpackaged meat, sausages, smallgoods, seafood, cheese and/or deli foods and will happily put these straight into a BYO container – woohoo!

• Princes Street Butcher and Kitchen, 416 Princes Street, Dunedin Central – BYO container for cuts of meat. They’re also working on a jar swap scheme of meat spices!
• Marbecks Foodstore, Wall Street Mall, 16/211 George Street, Dunedin Central – BYO container to get cheese and cured meats from the deli.
• Deep Creek Deli, 35 North Road, North East Valley – this store specializes in organic and European style meats and are happy to put unpackaged meats straight into BYO containers.
• Robertsons Meats,  527 Hillside Rd, Caversham – fresh meat, sausages and smallgoods without packaging, just BYO containers
• Leckies Butchery, 153 Forbury Rd, St Clair – fresh meat, sausages and smallgoods without packaging, just BYO containers
• Agora Butchery, 70A Gordon Road, Mosgiel – fresh meat, sausages and smallgoods without packaging, just BYO containers
• Outram Butchery, 2 Mountfort Street, Outram – fresh meat, sausages and smallgoods without packaging, just BYO containers
• Blue Water Products/Origin, 4 Wharf Street, Dunedin Central – get unpackaged fish into BYO containers
• Harbour Fish, 78 Great King Street, Dunedin Central – sells fresh fish, smoked fish and smoked mussels unpackaged and are happy to put these straight into BYO containers.
• Trawler Fish Supply, 66 Musselburgh Rise, Musselburgh
• Yoghurt, cheese etc.
  • visit the Holy Cow stall at the Otago Farmers Market – they sell yoghurt, cream and mango lassi all in returnable glass jars/bottles, and their butter is unpackaged so you can have it put straight into a BYO container or your own beeswax wrap! You can also get Holy Cow products at Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central.
  • Get unpackaged cheese into your own container at Whitestone and Evansdale at the Otago Farmers Market; or BYO container for cheese, olives and sundried tomatoes from the deli at The Good Food Co, 174 Eglinton Road, Mornington.
• Blue Spur Butchery, 13a Ross Place, Lawrence
• Bottings Butchery, 188 Clyde Street, Balclutha
• Tiny’s Milton Butchery, 112 Union Street, Milton
• Waihola Fish & Chips, 39 Greenwich Street, Waihola – fresh fish fillets unpackaged
• Unpackaged live mussels – there are a few stores around town that stock unpackaged live mussels at self-serve counters. We put them straight into upcycled ice cream containers/BYO containers rather than the plastic bags the stores usually provide. You can find unpackaged live mussels at New World Centre City, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central (and clams); New World Gardens, 6 North Road, North East Valley; PAK’nSAVE Dunedin, 86 Hillside Road, South Dunedin; FreshChoice Roslyn, 279 Highgate, Roslyn; and New World Balclutha, 9 Lanark Street, Balclutha.
• Supermarket delis – Most supermarkets have a deli section offering unpackaged meat, seafood, olives and other antipasti, salads, lunch foods and more. All Countdown supermarkets officially allow you to BYO container for these goods! Most Fresh Choice do also. Watch this space for when New World and PAK’nSAVE extend this practice to the South Island…

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The following stores bake and sell unpackaged bread and bakery goods (in some of these stores some items might be pre-packed or wrapped in cling film, just avoid those things!). Simply BYO bread bag to put the bread/bakery goods into. Some places will bag up their bread later in the day, so you want to get in there before they do that (i.e. before 1pm).

• Romeeco Bakery, 422 George Street, Dunedin Central
• The Kitchen Table, 111 Moray Place, Dunedin Central
• Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central – home of Body of the Year breads
• Kind Grocer, 49 Vogel Street, Dunedin Central – Muka Sourdough when available, or Body of the Year bread in brown paper bags (BYO bread bag and leave them to reuse the paper bag)
• Gilbert’s Fine Food, 47 Otaki Street, South Dunedin
• Spelt Bakery, 481 Highgate, Maori Hill, Dunedin – stocks unpackaged bread baked in-store and no single-use bags (they have reusable ones in a box that you can borrow or just BYO bag!). Happy to put other bakery goods into BYO containers also.
• Beam Me Up Bagels,  9 North Road, North East Valley – unpackaged bagels
• Danish Delights, 604 Hillside Road, South Dunedin
• Bakers Dozen, 43 Mailer Street, Mornington
• Cottage Bakehouse, 3 Factory Road, Mosgiel
• Otago Farmers Market, Dunedin Railway Station carpark, 1 Anzac Ave – a few vendors at the market sell bread and bakery goods unpackaged (just BYO bag): Indigo Bakeries, Gilbert’s Fine Food and Beano’s Bakery.
• Occasional Bakery, Taieri Mouth – beautiful artisan sourdough bread baked by a Taieri Mouth local – BYO bag when you pick it up! It isn’t called the Occasional Bakery for nothing though, so keep an eye out on the Taieri Mouth Community Facebook page for baking days and note that you need to request bread in advance.
• The following supermarkets stock unpackaged bread and/or bakery goods, just BYO bags: New World Centre City, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; New World Gardens, 6 North Road, North East Valley; Pak’nSave Dunedin, 86 Hillside Road, South Dunedin; FreshChoice Roslyn, 279 Highgate, Roslyn; FreshChoice Green Island, 230 Main S Road, Green Island; Night ‘n Day Balclutha, 25 Essex Street, Balclutha; and New World Balclutha, 9 Lanark Street, Balclutha.

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• Markets – No two ways about it, if you want a good source of unpackaged (often locally grown) produce, markets are the place to go! At most markets you can meet the grower/producer face-to-face, making them an ideal place to start fruitful conversations about waste-free food, and to develop relationships and systems that enable you to get your favourite fruit, vege and preserves without the packaging. At markets you may also find local producers of pre-made foods like tofu, preserves and sauces etc. Have a chat to see if you can leave containers with the stall holders for them to fill with your desired product for you to pick up from them the following week, or if the stallholder uses glass jars for packaging, ask whether they will take their empty glass jars back for sterilisation and reuse. Often the answer is yet. Checking out the Otago Farmers Market, Dunedin Railway Station carpark, 1 Anzac Ave, is an absolute must because it’s amazing! There’s plenty of produce and other goods you can get unpackaged, including bread and bakery goods (see ‘bakeries’ section above).
• Trade Aid – Trade Aid‘s 1.5kg sugar bags are also great for upcycling as bulk bin bags, and are home compostable when they do wear out. Trade Aid’s coconut oil is one of the few on the market that does not have a plastic seal around the lid. You can get these products at Trade Aid shop, but also Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central and New World Centre City, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central. You can get the coconut oil at New World Gardens, 6 North Road, North East Valley. You can get the sugar at Pak’nSave Dunedin, 86 Hillside Road, South Dunedin, Health 2000 Sunray, Centre City Mall, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central and Orphans Aid Opshop, 45 King Edward Street, South Dunedin and 21 North Road, North East Valley.
• Granny Annie’s Sweet Shop, 117 George Street, Dunedin Central – sells fudge and chocolate truffles unpackaged (BYO containers).
• Otago Petfoods, 205 Main S Road, Green Island – stocks some unpackaged pet food (BYO bags/containers).

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Look out for places that sell whole or ground coffee beans unpackaged, and bring your own bag and container to fill. Going direct to coffee roasters is the best option, but you can also look out for bulk dispensers of unpackaged coffee in other stores (which usually have in-store grinders also). Here are the spots we found that offer these options:

• Mazagran, 36 Moray Place, Dunedin Central
• Wolf at the Door, 6 Carroll Street, Dunedin Central;
• beans roasted by Strictly Coffee Company at their HQ & Roastery, 137 Frederick Street, North Dunedin (HQ & Roastery), or at Insomnia, 23 Bath Street, Dunedin Central
• Vanguard Specialty Coffee Co, 329 Princes Street, Dunedin Central has its Alpha blend easily available, but just call in advance for other blends;
• Common Ground Espresso, 4 Strathallan Street Unit 11, South Dunedin
• Kūkū Coffee Ōtepoti, 292 South Road, Caversham.
• The Fix, 15 Frederick Street, North Dunedin;
• Allpress Espresso Roastery Cafe, 12 Emily Siedeberg Place, North Dunedin;
• Grid Coffee Roasters, 174 Eglinton Road, Mornington; and at Steep Cafe, 282 North Road, North East Valley are keen on byo bags/containers (they even have buckets for the cafes they supply!)
• Coffee Culture, 50 City Road, Roslyn (roasted in Christchurch)
• As well as roasters, Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central and Le Bocal, 54 Clyde Street, Balclutha stock Trade Aid coffee beans in bulk, New World Centre City, 133 Great King Street, stocks Hummingbird coffee beans in bulk (probably the cheapest option in town for unpackaged, organic and fairtrade coffee beans), and Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central, stocks unpackaged coffee beans too.

We avoid teabags as most have plastic in them, which we don’t want in our tea or our soil. Using loose leaf tea is an easy way to get around this. The trick is to find somewhere that sells loose leaf tea packaging-free, so you can put the leaves straight into BYO jars/containers! You’ll find loose tea leaves in bulk dispensers at:

• Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central (as well as unpackaged tea bags by Kerrindale and Trade Aid)
• Kind Grocer, 49 Vogel Street, Dunedin Central
• Health 2000 Sunray, Centre City Mall, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central
• Project Wellness, 287C Highgate, Roslyn
• Heke Homemade Herbals‘ amazing NZ grown herbal teas are sold unpackaged in bulk dispensers at Grid Coffee Roasters, 174 Eglinton Road, Mornington and at Le Bocal, 54 Clyde Street, Balclutha.
• Plain black tea leaves at Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central.

Sourcing cow’s milk without the plastic bottles or non-dairy milk without the dreaded Tetra-pak is no mean feat! We’ve found the following options:

• Return & Refill glass bottle scheme for DAIRY milk – FOUR options for milk in reusable glass bottles (see below). How do all these systems work? The first time you buy a bottle of milk from any of the companies you pay a little extra to cover the cost of the bottle and to ensure that you return it when you’re done. Return empty bottles to any stockist of the milk, and exchange it for a full bottle for only the price of the milk (or else get your deposit back). The empties are then returned to the milk companies for sterilisation and reuse – so the bottles just go around and around – true zero waste!
  1. Holy Cow milk at both Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central, and at the Otago Farmers Market.
  2. The Natural Dairy Milk at the Otago Farmers Market
  3. Goat Island Dairy goat’s milk at the Otago Farmers Market; and Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central.
  4. Windy Ridge Farm milk at:
     • Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central
     • Blue Water Products/Origin, 4 Wharf Street, Dunedin Central
     • Regent Night ‘n Day, 2 Regent Road, North Dunedin
     • Stadium Store, 94 Victoria Rd, St Kilda
     • Musselburgh Food Centre, 134 Musselburgh Rise
     • Waverley Dairy & Food Centre, 42 Larnach Road, Waverley
     • Pinehill Dairy, 354 Pine Hill Rd, Liberton/Pine Hill
     • Blacks Road Grocer, 178 North Rd, North East Valley
     • Spelt Bakery, 481 Highgate, Maori Hill, Dunedin
     • Ravensbourne Convenience Store, 217 Ravensbourne Road, Ravensbourne
     • Fairfield Store, 37 Main Road, Fairfield
     • Wal’s Plant Land, 109 Bush Road, Mosgiel
     • Agora Butchery, 70A Gordon Road, Mosgiel
     • Lawrence Night ‘n Day,  2 Whitehaven Street, Lawrence
     • Cafe Lola, 81 Union Street, Milton
     • Suzie’s Milton Butchery, 66 Union Street, Milton
     • Le Bocal, 54 Clyde Street, Balclutha
     • Liquorland Clutha, 70 Clyde Street, Balclutha
     • Kai’s T & P Takeaways, 35 Eddystone St, Kaitangata
     • Food for Thought, 10 Main Road, Clinton
• Return & Refill glass bottle scheme for PLANT-BASED milk – you can buy Ronia & Pippi nut mylks in reusable glass bottles at Kind Grocer, 49 Vogel Street, Dunedin Central; Beam Me Up Bagels,  9 North Road, North East Valley; and the Otago Farmers Market. Simply return your glass bottles when they’re empty and they’ll take them back for sterilisation and reuse/refill.

Look out for places that sell beer on tap and BYO bottles/flagons to fill up. Breweries are awesome, but lots of liquor stores offer this option too! We found beer on tap at:

• New New New Corporation, 218 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central
• Green Man Brewery, 9 Grange Street, North Dunedin
• Meenan Wines & Spirits, 750 Great King St, North Dunedin (who also do vodka lemonade and none other than Speights on tap)
• Emerson’s, 70 Anzac Ave, Dunedin Central.
• Henry’s, Corner Hanover & Great King Streets, Dunedin Central
• Thirsty Liquor, Corner Hillside and Helena Streets, Caversham
• Liquorland Anderson’s Bay, 408 Andersons Bay Road, South Dunedin
• The Portsider Tap Room, 31 George Street, Port Chalmers.
• Liquorland Clutha, 70 Clyde Street, Balclutha
• For unpackaged brewing supplies (including malt and hops), head to Dunedin Malthouse, 596 Hillside Rd, Caversham.

Also, don’t forget that most liquor stores do ‘swappa crates’ of beer – i.e. crates of twelve 745ml bottles of classic NZ beer (e.g. Lion Red/Brown, Speights, Tui, Export Gold etc.) which can be returned (when the bottles are empty) and are then sent back to the brewery for sterilisation and refill (a better outcome for glass bottles than recycling because reusing the same bottle over and over requires way less energy and resources than recycling).

• Drinking Chocolate – find unpackaged/loose Trade Aid hot chocolate mix and cocoa powder at Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central and Le Bocal, 54 Clyde Street, Balclutha. You can also get cheap unbranded drinking chocolate from a bulk bin at Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central.
• Juice – Ronia & Pippi also do cold press juices which you can buy in reusable glass bottles at Kind Grocer, 49 Vogel Street, Dunedin Central; Beam Me Up Bagels,  9 North Road, North East Valley; and  the Otago Farmers Market. Simply return your glass bottles when they’re empty and they’ll take them back for sterilisation and reuse/refill. Head to Wests cordial/soft drink factory shop, 135 Bay View Road, South Dunedin, and check out what they have on tap that you can fill into your own bottle. It was pineapple and pear juice when we visited, but they may be willing to fill your own bottle with other juices/cordials/syrups too – just ask!
• Kombucha – you can get Kapowai Brewing Co. organic kombucha on tap at Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; Kind Grocer, 49 Vogel Street, Dunedin Central; and also at the Otago Farmers Market (they do a bottle swap too – return your empties for a refund and they’ll take them back for sterilisation and refill); Kiss kombucha on tap at Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central; and Project Wellness, 287C Highgate, Roslyn.
• Spirits on tap – Yes, you read correctly – spirits on tap!!! – available at Dunedin Malthouse, 596 Hillside Rd, Caversham.

Refills of cleaning products

The following stores stock liquid and/or powdered cleaning products in bulk dispensers – BYO bottles/containers!

• Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central (products by Ecostore and Dr Bronner’s (as well as many chemical based cleaners))
• Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central (a wide range of eco cleaners of different brands, including companies like Littlefoot and Be Natural who take back their bulk containers to be reused)
• Tokomairiro Community Hub, 61-63 Union Street, Milton – cleaning products made from scratch by locals! BYO bottles/containers.
• Le Bocal, 54 Clyde Street, Balclutha – cleaning products by Will&Able (who take back bulk containers when empty for refilling).

Low-waste dishwashing

You can find dishbrushes with wooden handles and removable + replaceable, home compostable heads at Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 30 The Octagon; Marbecks Foodstore, Wall Street Mall, 16/211 George Street, Dunedin Central; Health 2000 Sunray, Centre City Mall, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central; Unichem Roslyn Pharmacy, 287A Highgate, Roslyn; Project Wellness, 287C Highgate, RoslynYou can also get Go Bamboo veggie brushes (which can also be used as a dishbrush, and are also home compostable) at Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central; Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 30 The Octagon, Dunedin Central; Marbecks Foodstore, Wall Street Mall, 16/211 George Street, Dunedin Central; Olivier Home, 468 George Street, Dunedin Central; FreshChoice Roslyn, 279 Highgate, Roslyn; Unichem Roslyn Pharmacy, 287A Highgate, Roslyn; Project Wellness, 287C Highgate, Roslyn; Port Pantry, 23 George Street, Port Chalmers; and Four Square Port Chalmers, 63 George Street, Port Chalmers.

We also encourage people to move away from using dishcloths, sponges and bench wipes made out of synthetic material (as these leach microfibres and they’re also destined for landfill when they wear down) and to use natural fibre cloths instead.

• Beautiful locally hand knitted 100% cotton dishcloths of various kinds are sold at Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; Jilly’s Dishcloths are sold at Port Pantry, 23 George Street, Port Chalmers and at the Port Chalmers Cruise Ship Markets (Saturdays when cruise ships are in town, at Pioneer Hall or the Town Hall); and cotton dishcloths locally knitted by a 95 yr old man (!!) at Annie’s Emporium, 52 George Street, Port Chalmers.
• Other 100% cotton dishcloths of various kinds are sold at Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 30 The Octagon, Dunedin Central; Paper Plus, Golden Centre Mall, 251 George Street, Dunedin Central; Moi Design, 309 George Street, Dunedin Central and 1 Bedford Street, St Claire; Grid Coffee Roasters, 174 Eglinton Road, Mornington; Bloomin Gorgeous, 19 North Road, North East Valley; and Le Bocal, 54 Clyde Street, Balclutha.
• 100% cotton/cellulose (home compostable) dishcloths from brands like Wet It, SPRUCE, Anneko, Toodles Noodles and Nil are sold at Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; Doodlefish, 40 Stuart Street, Dunedin Central; Steven’s, 15-180 George Street, Dunedin Central; Marbecks Foodstore, Wall Street Mall, 16/211 George Street, Dunedin Central; Health 2000 Sunray, Centre City Mall, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; and Unichem Roslyn Pharmacy, 287A Highgate, Roslyn.
• Instead of those dark green plastic scourers, get ones made from natural materials (e.g. coconut fibre and sisal) that can be composted when no longer working. Find them at Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central; Steven’s, 15-180 George Street, Dunedin Central

Laundry

• Eco Planet and Earthwise 1kg laundry powder both come in a cardboard box with no inner plastic lining, and Eco Planet’s scoop is made of cardboard while Earthwise has no scoop at all. Find both at New World Centre City, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; PAK’nSAVE Dunedin, 86 Hillside Road, South Dunedin; New World Gardens, 6 North Road, North East Valley; FreshChoice Roslyn, 279 Highgate, Roslyn; and New World Balclutha, 9 Lanark Street, Balclutha.
• You can also get Living Green laundry powder, which is the same deal (no plastic, septic tank safe) with a bamboo scoop, from any Countdown supermarket; and at FreshChoice Roslyn, 279 Highgate, Roslyn.
• Soapnuts – a natural nut/berry that produces saponin and so can be used for laundry. Once spent, they can be home composted. They’re available at Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central in a cardboard box or cotton bag; and Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central in bulk dispensers. Alternatively you can get the SoapNuts brand (packaged only in a cardboard box, no plastic lining, at Health 2000 Clutha, 68a Clyde Street, Balclutha.
• Non-plastic clothes pegs – get bamboo pegs at Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central; Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; @cquisitions, 251 George Street, Dunedin Central; New World Centre City, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; Project Wellness, 287C Highgate, Roslyn; FreshChoice Roslyn, 279 Highgate, Roslyn; and New World Gardens, 6 North Road, North East Valley. Get stainless steel pegs at Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central; Health 2000 Sunray, Centre City Mall, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; Project Wellness, 287C Highgate, Roslyn; and Port Pantry, 23 George Street, Port Chalmers.

Ingredients for DIY cleaning products

• Baking soda, white vinegar, epsom salts, washing soda, diatomaceous earth – some or all of these items available in bulk dispensers at Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central; and Le Bocal, 54 Clyde Street, Balclutha.
• Bars of castile soap – can be used as a base for homemade dishwashing and laundry liquid (see how it works here). At Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central, you can get Nature Body laundry and dish soap bar; Health 2000 Sunray, Centre City Mall, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; Health 2000 Golden Centre, Shop 19/251 George Street, Dunedin Central; and Health 2000 Clutha, 68a Clyde Street, Balclutha all stock Dr Bronner’s bars.

Bamboo Toothbrushes

• Bamboo Toothbrushes – a great alternative to plastic toothbrushes because they have wooden, home compostable handles (though bristles are still plastic and need to be removed from the handle and put in a rubbish bin).  Find bamboo toothbrushes at Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central; Kind Grocer, 49 Vogel Street, Dunedin Central; Health 2000 Sunray, Centre City Mall, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; New World Centre City, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; New World Gardens, 6 North Road, North East Valley; PAK’nSAVE Dunedin, 86 Hillside Road, South Dunedin; Antidote South, South City Mall, 132 Hillside Road, South Dunedin; Dunedin City Pharmacy, 22 Princes Street, Dunedin Central; Antidote Octagon, 2 George Street, Dunedin Central; Unichem Knox Pharmacy, 402 George Street, Dunedin Central; Unichem Centre City Pharmacy, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; FreshChoice Roslyn, 279 Highgate, Roslyn; Unichem Roslyn Pharmacy, 287A Highgate, Roslyn; Project Wellness, 287C Highgate, Roslyn; Four Square Port Chalmers, 63 George Street, Port Chalmers; Tokomairiro Community Hub, 61-63 Union Street, Milton; Milton Pharmacy, 71 Union Street, Milton; Health 2000 Clutha, 68a Clyde Street, Balclutha; Unichem Grays Pharmacy, 62 Clyde Street, Balclutha; and Ladybird Junction, 12 Elizabeth Street, Balclutha.
• Dental Floss – Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central stocks Do Gooder floss, which comes in a refillable glass tube with a screw on metal lid. The WHITE floss is made of 100% silk and is home compostable (the black floss has polyester in it so is landfill only). When you run out of the floss, no need to get a new dispenser, you can get refills of the floss in a cardboard box direct from Do Gooder

Unpackaged Bars of Soap

It’s easy to get soap without packaging in Dunedin. The following stores sell totally naked bars of soap:

• Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central
• Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central
• Lush, Wall Street Retail, 209 – 233 George Street, Dunedin Central
• Health 2000 Sunray, Centre City Mall, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central
• I Love Pretty, 475 Princes Street, Dunedin Central
• @cquisitions, 251 George Street, Dunedin Central
• Health 2000 Golden Centre, Shop 19/251 George Street, Dunedin Central (Blue Earth soap in cardboard)
• Dunedin City Pharmacy, 22 Princes Street, Dunedin Central (cardboard wrapped)
• Unichem Centre City Pharmacy, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central
• Mac & Wallace, 317 George Street, Dunedin Central
• Favourite Interiors, 295 Highgate, Roslyn
• Blackbird Gifts, 74 Highgate, Roslyn
• Bloomin Gorgeous, 19 North Road, North East Valley (some locally made)
• Georgie Girl, 15 George Street, Port Chalmers (Inga Ford Dunedin made soaps)
• Annie’s Emporium, 52 George Street, Port Chalmers (locally made goat’s milk soap)
• Green Island Boutique Pharmacy, 195b Main S Road, Green Island (Inga Ford Dunedin made soaps)
• Larson’s Pharmacy, 216 Main S Road, Green Island
• Made & Found, 135A Gordon Road, Mosgiel
• Craft Room on 87, 87 Holyhead Street, Outram
• Country Trader Crafts, Holyhead Street, Outram (Inga Ford soaps)
• Unique Living, 11 Ross Place, Lawrence
• Black Swan Cafe Gift Shop, 40 Greenwich Street, Waihola
• Tokomairiro Community Hub, 61-63 Union Street, Milton – locally made.
• Le Bocal, 54 Clyde Street, Balclutha.

Bars for Shampoo/Shaving/Deodorant/Moisturiser

We’d encourage you to get your everyday toiletries – from shampoo through to shaving soap – in bar form, which means you totally avoid the plastic/aluminium bottles that liquid products usually come in!

• Many places stock the popular Ethique range which includes shampoo bars, conditioner bars, shaving bars, deodorant bars, moisturiser bars, etc. (all of Ethique‘s bars come in home compostable packaging): Farmers, 150-180 George Street, Dunedin Central; Unichem Centre City Pharmacy, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; Unichem Knox Pharmacy, 402 George Street, Dunedin Central; Unichem Roslyn Pharmacy, 287A Highgate, Roslyn; Unichem Mornington Pharmacy, 170 Eglinton Road, Mornington; Antidote Gardens, 1 North Road, North East Valley; and Unichem Central Pharmacy, 130 Gordon Road, Mosgiel – all of Ethique‘s bars come in home compostable packaging.
• Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central stocks a wide range of brands of toiletries bars, such as Simple Naked Soap, Global Soap, Forage, Be Natural, Henrietta and Clean Earth
• Get locally made Henrietta shampoo bars at New World Centre City, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; and New World Gardens, 6 North Road, North East Valley
• Get Fair + Square shampoo, face, body, hand, pet and baby soaps from Antidote Octagon, 2 George Street, Dunedin Central; Project Wellness, 287C Highgate, Roslyn;
• Get Dirty Hippie toiletries bars from Health 2000 Sunray, Centre City Mall, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central.
• Get Martha’s Marvellous shampoo bars at Kind Grocer, 49 Vogel Street, Dunedin Central
• Get Blue Earth shampoo and shaving bars at Health 2000 Golden Centre, Shop 19/251 George Street, Dunedin Central; and Health 2000 Sunray.
• Find Ahhh… shampoo and conditioner bars at New World Centre City, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central
• Deodorant 
  • look no further than the locally-made Pitstop Power – you can get bars of this deodorant, totally unpackaged, directly from Danielle who makes them (just contact her directly to arrange a pick up), or you can buy them in a cardboard box wrapped in home compostable baking paper from Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central; Unichem Roslyn Pharmacy, 287A Highgate, Roslyn, and for other stockists, check the list on the Pitstop Power website.
  • You can also get various toiletries in cardboard tubes that can be composted at end of life from, like Aotearoad deodorant and dry shampoo New World Centre City, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; these same products plus Nature Body sunscreen and lip balm at Project Wellness, 287C Highgate, Roslyn; and Raw Nature deodorant, dry shampoo and lip balm at Antidote Gardens, 1 North Road, North East Valley.
• Lush, Wall Street Retail, 209 – 233 George Street, Dunedin Central also sells its own shampoo bars (though they are not a natural shampoo and have sodium laurel sulfate in them).
• Simple Naked Soap – a wonderful local Balclutha soap maker who makes a wide range of toiletries in bar form. You can buy these at Health 2000 Sunray, Centre City Mall, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; Le Bocal, 54 Clyde Street, Balclutha; or at a farmers market near you! You can order them unpackaged, or else in a small reusable cotton bag.
• There’s also Horse & Hound animal shampoo bars for sale either unpackaged or in cardboard at Matau Garden Centre, 33 Charlotte Street, Balclutha.

Liquid Toiletries on Tap (BYO bottles!) or Refillable Toiletries

The following stores stock liquid toiletries on tap – BYO bottles/containers to fill up!

• Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central stocks N.O.M shampoo and conditioner refills and sunscreen refills. Real Skin lotions can be refilled and the Natural Me Skin Care range they stock comes in aluminium and glass returnable/refillable containers.
• Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central stocks Ecostore shampoo and conditioner refills.
• Clip Joint Hairdressing, 100 Great King Street, Dunedin Central – this hairdresser has a shampoo and conditioner refill station, stocking shampoos and conditioners by Keune, Hi Lift and 12 Reasons, all of which are cruelty-free, vegan, paraben and sulfate free. They also make an in-store deodorant packaged in a glass jar with a metal lid, when empty you can return the jar for sterilisation and refill (and doing this will earn you $2 off your next deodorant!)
• Le Bocal, 54 Clyde Street, Balclutha stocks a range of toiletries on tap by Will&Able (who take their bulk containers back when empty and refill them).

Menstrual Cups

A zero waste, low cost alternative to disposable sanitary items like tampons and pads.

• You can buy menstrual cups at: Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; Dunedin City Pharmacy, 22 Princes Street, Dunedin Central; Life Pharmacy, Wall Street Mall, 211 George Street, Dunedin Central; Health 2000 Golden Centre, Shop 19/251 George Street, Dunedin Central; Unichem Centre City Pharmacy, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; Health 2000 Sunray, Centre City Mall, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; New World Centre City, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; Unichem Knox Pharmacy, 402 George Street, Dunedin Central; PAK’nSAVE Dunedin, 86 Hillside Road, South Dunedin; Albany Street Pharmacy, 27 Albany Street, North Dunedin; New World Gardens, 6 North Road, North East Valley; Project Wellness, 287C Highgate, Roslyn; FreshChoice Roslyn, 279 Highgate, Roslyn; Unichem Taieri Pharmacy, 2 Factory Road, Mosgiel; Unichem Central Pharmacy, 130 Gordon Road, Mosgiel; and Tokomairiro Community Hub, 61-63 Union Street, Milton.
• Get reusable, washable pads by Venus Mutiny at Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; have a go at making your own at Stitch Kitchen (see below in Community Services section); and also available at Tokomairiro Community Hub, 61-63 Union Street, Milton.

Shaving

Avoid plastic shavers that are designed to be disposable and go for 100% metal razors that will last you decades and only require the 100% metal and recyclable blades to be replaced (or sharpened with a leather strop!), and remember to use a bar of shaving soap instead of shaving foam that comes in an aerosol can – you’ll need a shaving brush to make this work. You can buy razors, replacement blades and shaving brushes from:

• Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central
• Michael Shanks Hair Design, 218 Princes Street, Dunedin Central
• Selwyn Grave Barber, 276 Moray Place, Dunedin Central
• Clip Joint Hairdressing, 100 Great King Street, Dunedin Central
• Health 2000 Sunray, Centre City Mall, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central
• The Barber Shop, 277 King Edward Street, South Dunedin

Just the razors are available at Project Wellness, 287C Highgate, Roslyn.

Other

• Cotton Buds – Go Bamboo makes home compostable buds so you can avoid the single-use, unrecyclable plastic ones. Get them from Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; Bin Inn Dunedin, 126 Crawford Street, Dunedin Central; New World Centre City, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; Health 2000 Sunray, Centre City Mall, 133 Great King Street, Dunedin Central; New World Gardens, 6 North Road, North East Valley; Unichem Roslyn Pharmacy, 287A Highgate, Roslyn; Project Wellness, 287C Highgate, Roslyn; and FreshChoice Roslyn, 279 Highgate, Roslyn.
• Toilet Paper – Greencane, With Small, and Bambaloo toilet paper are packaged in home compostable packaging, and EarthSmart now does paper packaging for their 6 roll packs too! Get Greencane and Smartass from Taste Nature, 131 High Street, Dunedin Central; just Smartass from Kind Grocer, 49 Vogel Street, Dunedin Central and Project Wellness, 287C Highgate, Roslyn; Bambaloo at Dunedin City Pharmacy, 22 Princes Street, Dunedin Central; and EarthSmart in paper at FreshChoice Roslyn, 279 Highgate, Roslyn; and PAK’nSAVE Dunedin, 86 Hillside Road, South Dunedin. Le Bocal, 54 Clyde Street, Balclutha stock individual rolls of paper wrapped only in paper.

Reuse, Repair and Recycle

• Food waste – food waste and scraps going to landfill not only produces methane, but also represents the loss of an excellent resource that could be turned into compost to enrich our soil, or, if the discarded food was still edible, the loss of perfectly good food that could go to someone that wants to eat it!
  • If you would like to set up your own home compost, worm farm or bokashi system, check out the handy resources on the Clutha District Council page and the Dunedin City Council page. You can also look out for composting workshops, which Dunedin City Council runs semi-regularly. Note that BOTH the Dunedin City Council and the Clutha District Council subsidise the price of a bokashi bin – so go to one of their customer service points and buy directly from them or you can purchase at Green Island or Mt Cooee Landfills.
  • Are you a hospitality business in Dunedin sending food scraps to landfill? Get in touch with Doubt Not Composting – they’ll come and collect and compost those food scraps for you and use them to grow TREES – yay!
  • If you are a Dunedin-based business chucking out food that is still edible but not saleable, you can get in touch with KiwiHarvest – an excellent initiative that takes from businesses edible food that would otherwise go to waste, and redistributes it to people who need it.
  • Note that greenwaste in landfill also produces methane so shouldn’t be landfilled either. For those in Clutha, if you can’t process all your greenwaste at home, then if you take it to the Mt Cooee landfill and drop it off at the designated “green waste” site (where it will be mulched/composted rather than landfilled) then you’ll receive 50% off the disposal cost.
• E-waste – electronic waste is the world’s fastest growing waste stream, with huge environmental implications because of the toxins that can be leached from this waste, but also the loss of incredibly precious resources embedded in these items that are not recovered when the waste is dumped in landfill.
  • Repair – Rather than throwing you broken electronics out – have you considered trying to get them repaired first? You could pay someone to do it, or look out for Repair or Fix-it Cafes where experts donate their time to fix people’s broken items for free at a designated repair event (usually run by community centres, churches or councils).
  • Recycle – If your electronics really have given up the ghost, rather than chucking them out, take them to Cargill Enterprises, 199 Hillside Road, South Dunedin (or if you’re in Clutha, take them to Mt Cooee Landfill and pay the fee for them to be recycled and they’ll be sent to Cargill Enterprises. Cargill Enterprises is a social enterprise that accepts a wide range of electronics for recycling. Or else, at the Rummage Store at the Green Island Resource Recovery Centre there’s a collection point for some types of e-waste to be taken for recycling. These recycling services will come at a cost to you (until the Government starts to regulate manufacturers of these products), but it’s a small cost relative to damage these items otherwise cause in landfill.
• Free Resources Waste Exchange – a Dunedin-based website linking up businesses with surplus, by product or waste materials with individuals, schools and the wider community who might be interested in those materials for their own projects. The resources are exchanged FOR FREE! Browse the website at any one time to see the listings and what’s on offer and save these resources from landfill!
• The Crooked Spoke, 111 Moray Place, Dunedin – is your bike a bit munted or in need of repair? Have you found an old bicycle that looks worse for wear? Don’t chuck them out! Take the bike to The Crooked Spoke and have a go at learning how to fix it up, with the support of some on-to-it volunteers, at this DIY bicycle workshop in Dunedin.
• Dunedin Curtain Bank, Level 1, 174 Princes Street – a great organisation taking unused/unwanted curtains, tidying them up and then redistributing them to those who need them in Dunedin. If you’re in need of curtains or have old/spare curtains you’re able to donate to save them from going to landfill, take them to the curtain bank.
• Second Hand Sundays – Are you in Clutha and do you have stuff you’d like to get rid of but is too good to put in the rubbish or too bulky to take to your local second-hand store? You can take part in Clutha District Council’s Second Hand Sundays initiative. All you need to do is put the items you no longer want outside your gate with a sign and wait for someone to find your treasure (remember not to leave them out overnight). For more information about Second Hand Sundays, check this page out.
• Textile/clothing waste – textile waste is one of NZ’s fastest growing waste streams with the discarded clothing that flows from fast fashion producing eye-watering piles of waste. Dunedin has both businesses and not-for-profits working to shift our approach to textiles and clothing, away from unconscious consumptive practices towards resourcefulness and ethical fashion.
  • Stitch Kitchen (formerly Just Atelier), 88 Vogel Street, Dunedin – not only is textile waste is one of NZ’s fastest growing waste streams, but basic skills of sewing and repairing clothes are essential for a low-waste lifestyle. So what better than an organisation like Stitch Kitchen that aims to reduce textile waste AND pass on the skills of sewing and repair?! Stitch Kitchen is run by Fiona Clements, Fiona Jenkin and Glenys Clements. The organisation focuses on local solutions to the global problem of social and environmental waste in the fashion industry. They work with upcycled fabrics and also run regular workshops and classes to support people into basic sewing skills. Their Vogel Street headquarters has sewing equipment available that you can drop in to use on open days. They operate a fabric Swap Shop too, where any one can leave textiles they don’t have use for, and anyone in need of textiles for a sewing project can come and take, in an exchange for other textiles, books, patterns, volunteer time or a koha. The Swap Shop is open during workshops or by appointment.
  • Senorita Awesumo – an incredible, Dunedin-based, zero waste clothing label run by Fiona Clements, one of the founders of Stitch Kitchen. If you’re on the hunt for some zero waste clothes, look no further – check out the wonderful online store and read all about this business’ kaupapa of creating garments with no waste! Not only that, but Senorita Awesumo runs education workshops on zero waste textiles and conscious consumption, from primary through to tertiary level education. What better way to get some super-informed knowledge about ethical fashion – from practical info about how to care for your clothes to help them last longer, through to systemic changes that are needed to revolutionise the way we clothe ourselves.
  • Bags for Good – a local initiative run by Plastic Free Dunedin and Just Atelier Trust to turn secondhand/upcycled/repurposed fabric into reusable bags as alternatives to plastic shopping bags for shoppers that have forgotten their own. If you’re interested in helping out and sewing some bags, Bags for Good are always keen for volunteers. It’s a great way to learn to sew (if you don’t know already) while helping to reduce plastic bag consumption. Check out their Facebook page to find out when the next working bee is taking place.

Zero Waste Information and Support Networks

• Local zero waste advocates – Dunedin has its own waste-free advocates that share their tips and tricks publically. Sarah Tay, AKA Waste Free Sarah is a Dunedin local who has been living by zero waste principles since roughly 2016. She shares tips and insights on her Facebook page Waste Free Sarah AND she runs low-waste living workshops around Dunedin! So definitely check Sarah out. Dr Maureen Howard also lives low waste in Dunedin and she runs a radio show on sustainable living called Eco Living in Action on Otago Access Radio, which includes interviews that touch on waste issues.
• UYO (Use Your Own) – while a nationwide service, Director Laura runs this amazing directory from Dunedin! UYO provides a directory of cafes and eateries that allow people to use their own cups, cutlery, containers, bottles etc. UYO started off just focused on reusable cups, but has been so successful on the cup-front that it has expanded the number of metrics you can look up on its directory, including ethically sourced coffee beans, responsible food waste practices, no plastic straws, allowing water bottle refills and so on. An excellent tool to help you choose where to get your daily fix 😉 To top it off, ALL of UYO’s profits are donated to a selection of local, national and international charities.
• Clutha Change Collective – a group of Clutha locals supporting each other, and the wider community, to live more sustainably. If you have ideas for low-waste projects in the region, you could get a group together through this page. The group shares interesting sustainability-related events around the region and in the past have teamed up with the Clutha District Council and the Dunedin Curtain Bank to produce “koha bags” – reusable shopping bags made from secondhand/repurposed/upcycled materials that were given out at the Balclutha New World to help locals reduce their use of plastic shopping bags.
• Project Bruce, 61-63 Union Street, Milton – a community-led development project in Milton-Tokomairiro, Taieri Mouth and Waihola. The core concept is that the people of the Bruce identify their vision of a resilient community and sustainable solutions for achieving it. It’s early days in the project and Project Bruce is still gathering ideas from the community about what they’d like to see happen throughout the area. So there’s huge scope for ideas that incorporate concepts of waste reduction alongside community resilience – things like sewing/knitting/crochet groups, repair cafes, community sheds and community gardens, crop swaps and other ideas. Go have a chat with Lucy Hardy, the Project Bruce Community Development Worker, based at the Tokomairiro Community Hub.
• Tokomairiro Community Hub, 61-63 Union Street, Milton – there’s lots going on at the community hub, including activities that help with waste reduction and resource sharing. If you have spare children’ clothes that are no longer of use to you, don’t chuck them out, bring them down to the hub! If you’re in need of children’s clothing, the hub has secondhand clothing for 0-6 year olds available for those who need it! The hub also runs a market day every Tuesday where you can get local bread, fruit and veg (packaging-free!). Recently the market hub went bagless (yus!), so remember to BYO bag for the goodies!

Share and Exchange

• Toy Libraries – reduce the wasteful over-consumption of toys and save money by joining a toy library! Check out the Dunedin guide and the South Otago guide to find the nearest Toy Library to you.
• Dunedin Timebank – Dunedin has it’s very own timebank, which is great news because timebanking is one excellent way to reduce waste on a budget – allowing the exchange of skills and services with time credits rather than money. Through being part of a timebank you can harness the skills of creating and repairing in your community, or have someone pass these skills on to you – whether it’s gardening, sewing, mending, building, computer and electronics maintenance – the list goes on! Well worth checking out and signing up!
• Our Food Network – harvesting and eating local food is a great way to reduce waste because the food doesn’t need to be so heavily packaged, you might even be able to get it yourself straight from the tree, or find ways to help producers get food to you without packaging. Our Food Network is a local organisation that’s completely focused on stimulating the production, distribution and consumption of local food, recognising that this can lead to a more resilient and prosperous community. The Network does things like helping people with lots of produce at home who’d like to share this food to harvest that produce and redistribute it to others, or getting together to run Neighbourhood Food Harvests, or store and preserve local food (like cider making!). The Network also runs or promotes workshops on topics such as gardening, organic principles and sustainable food systems. If you’d like to become a member, or receive more information, contact Andy Barratt on asbarratt@gmail.com.
• Pregnancy Help Dunedin, Shop 2a, Ground Floor, South City Mall, Hillside Road, Dunedin – if you’re about to become a new parent or are a parent with baby items that you no longer need and wish to pass on, Pregnancy Help is a great place to get secondhand baby items and clothes rather than having to buy brand new. They also have a Nappy Bank, providing access to reusable nappies and inserts, to help you to shift away from disposables. They even have locals sewing reusable bags to give out! All of the services Pregnancy Help provides are free and donations of items to pass on to families are always welcomed.

Skills and Resourcefulness in Communities

• Community gardens – community gardens are an excellent way for residents to get kai without packaging, and to learn skills of growing food and setting up composts – both very useful skills for low-waste living. There are several community gardens dotted around Dunedin City and Clutha, including the North East Valley Community Garden, 213 North Road, North Easy Valley; Green Island Community Garden, Shand Street, Green Island; Balclutha Community Garden, 38 James Street, Balclutha, and the Moturata Organic Community Garden, Taieri Mouth. There is also the AMAZING Otago Polytechnic Living Campus project which has taken gardening to a whole new level, co-opting the whole of the university’s green space into different types of sustainable living operations. There’s heaps of food all around and anyone is welcome to pick. You can also attend workshops that are run on various aspects of the Living Campus. Awesome! Community gardens are always looking for volunteers to help out and come along to working bees, so if you are interested in picking up gardening skills, or if you are already a keen gardener and would like to have the opportunity to share your skill with others, consider getting involved with your local community garden.
• The Valley Project – based in North Easy Valley this community group umbrellas lots of amazing projects, many of which can help with low-waste lifestyles. This includes the North East Valley Community Garden, as well as the Valley Community Workspace which runs activities such as bike workshops – where you can get a done-up, preloved bike for a great price, or even negotiate bike repairs – and a welding workshop, among other interesting projects. They also host the Dunedin Makerspace.
• Menzshed/Community Sheds – Menzsheds provide a great opportunity for men of all ages to share tools and a workspace (reducing the wasteful overduplication of these resources) and to pass on skills of woodworking and other trades. Menzsheds frequently offer communities the service of repairing broken items like furniture (at a small cost), and also creating bespoke items for community and charitable purposes. Note that many sheds around NZ are gender neutral community sheds. Definitely look up your local!
• Supergrans – living low-waste often requires the development of a whole host of skills that we don’t always get taught anymore – things like cooking from scratch, mending and repairing, and sewing, knitting and crocheting. Skills like budgeting and frugal living also crossover with the zero waste lifestyle. Supergrans is an excellent organisation that transmits many of these skills from older generations to younger ones. This intergenerational sharing of knowledge is so crucial for low-waste, savvy living. There’s an active Supergran branch in Dunedin, which runs excellent programmes and workshops on topics that are very relevant to low-waste living – definitely check them out!