This guide covers Hamilton City and the Waikato District only (specifically, Hamilton and Whāingaroa/Raglan). For other districts in the Waikato Region, please refer to the Zero Waste in the Waikato Regionpost.
.
.
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!
Lots of pantry staples – from flours, grains and rice, through to condiments, spices, legumes, nuts, seeds and liquid foods – usually come in single-use packets. These shops stock all manner of pantry foods loose in bulk bins (or operate return & refill systems for their packaging), allowing you to put these goods straight into your own bags, jars, containers and bottles, and skip the packaging!
Bin Inn St Andrews, 21 Braid Road, St Andrews; Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale; Bin Inn Hamilton East, 1B/20 Clyde Street, Hamilton East – offers a wide array of dried food in bulk (including, but not limited to, nuts, seeds, cereals, grains, flours, and legumes), a range of spices, liquid foods (including vinegars, oils and syrups), sweets and treats, and items essential for zero waste living, such as baking soda, salt and other specialty baking/cooking goods. They also have a peanut butter extruder, just BYO jar! Both Bin Inn Hamilton East and Bin Inn Dinsdale stock a range of organic bulk food. Bin Inn Dinsdale also stocks a great range of harder to find bulk liquids, including organic maple syrup and organic raw honey. All Bin Inn stores around New Zealand are currently offering 5% discount when you bring your own containers!
Frankton Fresh, 160 Commerce Street, Frankton – a really great range of affordable dried food in bulk, including legumes, grains, rice, flours, legumes, nuts, dried fruit and spices.
SS Spices & Groceries, 63 Kent Street, Frankton – a really great range of affordable dried food in bulk, including legumes, grains, rice, flours, legumes, nuts, dried fruit and spices.
Organic Nation, 245 Commerce Street, Frankton – stocks lots of organic food sold in bulk bins, including flours, grains, sugars and rice, legumes/pulses, nuts, seeds and dried fruit, and carob and cocoa nibs. Also stock liquid foods in bulk (BYO bottle), including olive oil, vinegar and tamari.
Yogiji’s Foodmart, 89 Greenwood Street, Frankton – stocks a range of bulk bins with dried food, including legumes, grains, rice, flours, sugars, legumes, nuts, dried fruit, spices, and salt.
Spice Guru, 42 Avalon Drive, Nawton -stocks a range of bulk bins with dried food, including legumes, grains, rice, flours, sugars, legumes, nuts, dried fruit, spices, and salt.
Khyber Foods and Spices, 6 Fifth Avenue, Claudelands – a really good range of bulk bins full of legumes, grains, rice, flours, sugars, legumes, nuts, dried fruit, spices, and salt.
Hearth Grocer, Lovegrove Lane, 1b/394 Grey Street, Hamilton East – a cute little store with a small, but carefully selected range of food, much of which is available with packaging free, including legumes, dried fruit and nuts, bulk olive oil (BYO bottle), and local, seasonal and organic fruit and produce.
Food 4 Less, 674 Te Rapa Road, Hamilton – stocks a variety of bulk foods, including legumes, grains, rice, flours, sugars, legumes, nuts, dried fruit, spices, and salt.
The Herbal Shop & Clinic, 2 Lorne Street, Melville – this store has a cute section of unpackaged herbs and spices. They also stock glass jars of Kokonati coconut oil, which have no plastic seal around the lid.
Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood – a small range of bulk bins with organic nuts, seeds and grains.
Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan – a dedicated zero waste store in Raglan (meaning not only do they have mostly unpackaged goods out front, but they work on reducing waste with their suppliers too)! Stocks a wide range of dried wholefoods (such as nuts, seeds, cereals, grains, flours, and legumes), a range of spices and liquid foods in tap (including vinegars, oils and syrups). They also have some products in glass jars that can be returned to be sterilised and reused by the producer, e.g. locally made PB23 peanut butter. They also do pet food in bulk dispensers! BYO bags/containers/jars for all.
The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan – stocks a range of bulk bins with organic grains, flours, rice, sugars, legumes, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, as well as liquid foods on tap (apple cider vinegar and olive oil). Lots of unpackaged fresh produce available and BYO containers are welcome for salad greens.
PB23 Peanut Butter– get this locally made peanut butter at the Raglan Creative Market, Old School Arts Centre, 5 Stewart Street, Raglan. It’s made by Raglan youngsters Enfys and Alaia, and comes in glass jars that once empty can be returned for sterilisation and reuse!
Supermarkets – most major supermarkets have well stocked bulk bin/pick and mix sections with wholefoods (BYO bags for these). However supermarket bulk aisles are pretty expensive, often more so than equivalent ingredients in packets (bah!), and more so than the bulk bins at places like Steve’s or Bin Inn.
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! ** CAN YOU HELP US UPDATE THIS SECTION?**
Wholly Cow, 680 Grey Street, Hamilton East – this butcher is more than happy to accept BYO containers and to pack orders into reusable containers
Hearth Grocer, Lovegrove Lane, 1b/394 Grey Street, Hamilton East – in-house deli food (BYO containers)
GoodBugs – get their beautiful fermented products in glass jars that you can return for a discount off your next order – glass jars are sterilised and reused!
Supermarket delis – Most supermarkets have a deli section offering unpackaged meat, seafood, olives and other antipasti, salads, lunch foods and more. All Countdown, New World and PAK’nSAVE supermarkets officially allow you to BYO container for these goods!
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). ** CAN YOU HELP US UPDATE THIS SECTION?**
Volare in multiple locations: 5 Gallagher Drive, Melville (main bakery); 6 Garden Place, Hamilton Central; 2 Gordonton Road, Greenhill Park; and 373 Grey Street, Hamilton East
Hearth Grocer, Lovegrove Lane, 1b/394 Grey Street, Hamilton East
Baker’s Delight, 20c Clyde Street, Hamilton East – want sliced bread into your own bag? Just ask!
Raglan Artisan Bread, 3 Wainui Road, Raglan – lots of artisan breads, bakery goods and more unpackaged
The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan
Most supermarkets (and even some Four Squares) stock unpackaged bread, bread rolls and/or bakery goods in their bakery section – just pop them into your BYO bags!
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. 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. Check out the Hamilton Farmers’ Market, Gate 3, Brooklyn Road, Claudelands; or the Raglan Creative Market, Old School Arts Centre, 5 Stewart Street, Raglan.
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, 4/19 Worley Place, Hamilton Central; and Trade Aid, 15 Bow Street, Raglan. You can also get the sugar at Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Hamilton.
Unpackaged chocolate/truffles/fudge/sweets – a few shops have sweet treats unpackaged that you can have put into your own containers:
Okashi House, 118 Alexandra Street, Hamilton Central – stocks Japanese sweets and snacks in little bulk bins!
The Country Providore (next to Punnet Cafe), 337 Newell Road, Hamilton – unpackaged fudge.
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:
Rocket Coffee, 302 Barton Street, Hamilton Central (a coffee roaster)
Bin Inn Hamilton East, 1B/20 Clyde Street, Hamilton East
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:
The Herbal Shop & Clinic, 2 Lorne Street, Melville.
Khyber Foods and Spices, 6 Fifth Avenue, Claudelands.
Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan.
The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan – sells lots of looseleaf herbal teas and customers are welcome to BYO containers to have unpackaged tea refills put into.
Bell‘s loose leaf tea is packaged in 100% paper and cardboard and is readily available at most supermarkets, Four Squares and dairies.
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:
Milk on tap or from a vending machine – milk is available on tap from a vending machine at one of the new Kaipaki Dairies refill stations (who’ve got an awesome stainless steel keg system set up) at ThePunnet Eatery, 337 Newell Road, Tamahere. Simply BYO bottle to fill up, or purchase a reusable glass bottle there that you can then refill on future occasions.
Milk delivery in reusable glass bottles – Dreamview Creameryhome delivers their milk in reusable glass bottles (just like the old days!), on a Tuesday in Hamilton, or in Raglan on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Leave your empty bottles out on the next delivery day so they can be returned to Dreamview Creamery for sterilisation and refill. YAY!
Return & Refill glass bottle scheme – Dreamview Creamery sells milk in reusable glass bottles – you can get your hands on them at Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale and Four Square Raglan, 3 Bankart Street, Raglan. How does the system work? The first time you buy a bottle of milk, 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 Dreamview Creamery for sterilisation and reuse – so the bottles just go around and around – true zero waste!
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:
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 – look out for places that sell drinking chocolate or cocoa powder in bulk and fill up BYO bags/containers. All three Bin Inn stores around Hamilton offer this option.
Reusable drinking vessels (cups and water bottles)
Say “no more” to disposable takeaway coffee cups and plastic water bottles by getting yourself reusables instead! Get reusable water bottles at Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton (metal); Urge Coffee and Tea Boutique, 2/371 Victoria Street, Hamilton Central; The Scullery, 371 Victoria Street, Hamilton Central (metal); Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood (metal); Chi Chi Deluxe – Funky Gifts, 299 Barton Street, Hamilton (metal); and Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan.
There are heaps of places to buy reusable takeaway coffee cups in Hamilton:
Find the Keep Cupbrand at Urge Coffee and Tea Boutique, 2/371 Victoria Street, Hamilton Central.
The NZ-made Cuppa Coffee Cup at Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton; Urge Coffee and Tea Boutique, 2/371 Victoria Street, Hamilton Central; Chi Chi Deluxe – Funky Gifts, 299 Barton Street, Hamilton
You can get glass Joco Cups at The Country Providore (next to Punnet Cafe), 337 Newell Road, Hamilton; Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale; and Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood
Zuperzozial bamboo cups are sold at The Scullery, 371 Victoria Street, Hamilton Central.
Get locally made ceramic coffee cups at Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan; or brandless ceramic coffee cup sold at @cquisitions, Te Awa Mall at The Base.
Reusable lunch boxes/containers
Reusable lunch boxes or containers are great to have on you when you’re out and about in case you want to get takeaways, to carry leftovers home with you, or if you find food to forage. You can get Meals in Steel stainless steel lunchboxes and food containers at Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton; Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan. Also, Ever Eco stainless steel bento snack boxes are sold at Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood
Reusable bags (shopping bags, produce bags and bulk bin bags)
Plastic shopping bags are a menace, but so too are those plastic produce bags for fruit and vege or the plastic bags often offered alongside bulk bins at bulk stores. You can avoid them by bringing your own bags or buying a set of reusable produce bags. You can get 100% organic cotton produce, bulk bin and/or string shopping bags at Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton and Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road,Dinsdalee; Hearth Grocer, Lovegrove Lane, 1b/394 Grey Street, Hamilton East; Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan. A range of other 100% cotton produce bags are sold at Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood
Reusable straws
Say “no straw thanks” next time you order a drink out and either use your mouth to drink, or get yourself a reusable metal straw instead. If you’re keen on a reusable metal straw, you can get them from Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton; Needle in the Hay, 300a Racquet Lane (off Barton Street), Hamilton Central; Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale; Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood; The Country Providore (next to Punnet Cafe), 337 Newell Road, Hamilton; Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
Alternatives to plastic cling wrap, plastic sandwich bags and tin foil
Beeswax wrap
Purchase at – Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton; Organic Nation, 245 Commerce Street, Frankton; Hearth Grocer, Lovegrove Lane, 1b/394 Grey Street, Hamilton East; Needle in the Hay, 300a Racquet Lane (off Barton Street), Hamilton Central; Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood; The Country Providore (next to Punnet Cafe), 337 Newell Road, Hamilton; Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
DIY – waaaaay cheaper! You just need natural fibre fabric and some beeswax. You can get fabric offcuts and fat quarters from places like Bernina Sewing Centre, 131 Pembroke Street, Hamilton and Knit World, 651 Victoria Street, Hamilton. You can get big blocks of unpackaged beeswax at Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale
Reusable sandwich bags – you can get these alternatives to plastic cling wrap and plastic ziplock bags at Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton; and Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan. You can get 100% cotton food storage bags by The Swag at The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
Silicone pot/bowlcovers – a good option for storing leftovers in a bowl (other than just putting a plate on top!) or as an alternative to tin foil for roasting (as the covers can withstand temperatures of up to 220 degrees and will also keep hot food warm when transporting). You can buy these at The Scullery, 371 Victoria Street, Hamilton Central; and @cquisitions, Te Awa Mall at The Base.
Refills of cleaning products
The following stores stock liquid and/or powdered cleaning products in bulk dispensers – BYO bottles/containers!
Bin Inn HamiltonEast, 1B/20 Clyde Street, Hamilton East(Ecostore)
Bin InnDinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale(Ecostore)
Go Eco, 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton (Ecostore)
Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan – stocks bulk plant-based cleaning products on tap by Little Foot, who take back the bulk containers to refill once empty (yay!). BYO bottles/containers to fill up. Also stock the awesome Will & Able cleaning product refills.
The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
Low-waste dishwashing
You can find dishbrushes with wooden handles and removable + replaceable, home compostable heads at Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton; Organic Nation, 245 Commerce Street, Frankton; Needle in the Hay, 300a Racquet Lane (off Barton Street), Hamilton Central; Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale; Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood; Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan. WARNING – although The Scullery also stocks wooden dishbrushes with replaceable heads, note that the replaceable heads have plastic bristles so they are NOT home compostable, so don’t buy the dishbrushes here (there are other places in the city that stock the real deal).
Home compostable veggie brushes (which you can use as a handle-less dishbrush) are sold at Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton; and Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood
We also encourage people to move away from using dishclothes, 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:
For something more like a traditional dishcloth sponge, check out the SPRUCE or Wet-it! 100% cotton + cellulose dishcloth sponges (home compostable at the end of their life) which are available at Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton; Needle in the Hay, 300a Racquet Lane (off Barton Street), Hamilton Central; Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
Fancy Bianca Lorrene 100% cotton cloths are available at The Country Providore (next to Punnet Cafe), 337 Newell Road, Hamilton.
Get unpackaged wads of cotton cloths/muslin that can be used as dishcloths at Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale
Get 100% cotton dishcloths at Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan.
Laundry
Soapnuts are a natural berry containing saponin, so can be used for laundry. Once the berries are spent, you can home compost them. Soapnuts NZsoapnuts come in a cardboard box with no plastic lining. You can get them at Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton. There’s also That Red House Soapberries which are in a paper bag inside a cotton pouch, sold at Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood
Alternatives to plastic clothes pegs – get bamboo pegs at Go Eco, 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton; Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan. Get stainless steel pegs at Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
Ingredients for DIY cleaning products
Baking soda – available unpackaged in bulk bins at Bin Inn St Andrews, 21 Braid Road, St Andrews; Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale; Bin Inn Hamilton East, 1B/20 Clyde Street, Hamilton East.
Bars of castile soap, which you can use as a base for homemade dishwashing and laundry liquid (see how it works here) – get Dr Bronner’s castile bars at Bin Inn Hamilton East; Bin Inn Dinsdale; Organic Nation, 245 Commerce Street, Frankton; Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood; The Herbal Shop & Clinic, 2 Lorne Street, Melville; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale; and Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan – both stock cleaning ingredients like borax, soda ash, epsom salts and caustic soda.
Zero waste teeth and mouth
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). You can find bamboo toothbrushes at Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale; Bin Inn Hamilton East, 1B/20 Clyde Street, Hamilton East; Go Eco, 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton; Organic Nation, 245 Commerce Street, Frankton; Naturally Healthy, 106 London Street, Hamilton; Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood; Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
Floss – Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale; and Go Eco, 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton stock Do Gooder silk floss with refills. You can get Eco floss dispensers (though with PLA floss), and Do Gooder refills (beware the bamboo ones that have plastic in them and get the silk ones instead) at Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood; and Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan.
Toothpaste tabs – an alternative to toothpaste in a tube, you can get individual tabs of toothpaste packaged in cardboard or paper, or buy them in bulk into your own containers. You can get unpackaged toothpaste tabs into your own containers at Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
Unpackaged Bars of Soap
It’s easy to get soap without packaging in Hamilton. The following stores sell totally naked bars of soap:
Bin Inn St Andrews, 21 Braid Road, St Andrews
Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale
Bin Inn Hamilton East, 1B/20 Clyde Street, Hamilton East
Needle in the Hay, 300a Racquet Lane (off Barton Street), Hamilton Central – locally made, unpackaged soap made using local roaster Rocket Coffee‘s grinds.
Organic Nation, 245 Commerce Street, Frankton
Hearth Grocer, Lovegrove Lane, 1b/394 Grey Street, Hamilton East
The Country Providore (next to Punnet Cafe), 337 Newell Road, Hamilton
Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan
The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan
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!
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) is stocked at Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton
Bars of soap by Wouldn’t Know ‘Em from a Bar of Soap Co., which include shaving and shampoo bars, are available at The Country Providore (next to Punnet Cafe), 337 Newell Road, Hamilton; and Hamilton Gardens Shop, Hungerford Crescent, SH1 (off Cobham Drive), Hamilton.
Get a range of locally and NZ made toiletries bars at Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton; Organic Nation, 245 Commerce Street, Frankton; Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood; and Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan
You can get sunscreen and deodorant in home compostable cardboard tubes at Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
You can get a crystal deodorant stick packaged in cork at The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
Reusable Menstrual Products
There are zero waste, low cost alternatives to disposable sanitary items like tampons and pads. You can get both menstrual cups and reusable washable pads at Go Eco, 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton, or just cups at Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood; Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
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 (see above) – note, you might need a shaving brush to make this work. Get safety razors and replacement blades at Go Eco, 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton; and Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan.
Liquid toiletries on tap for refills
The following stores stock liquid toiletries in bulk dispensers (BYO bottles!)
Bin Inn Dinsdale – refills of Eco Store shampoo, conditioner and body wash.
Go Eco, 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton – refills of Eco Store hand & body wash (BYO bottle).
Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan
The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
Ingredients for DIY cosmetics/toiletries
Baking Soda is an essential ingredient in lots of homemade toiletries such as toothpaste and deodorant. You can get it unpackaged in bulk bins from Bin Inn St Andrews, 21 Braid Road, St Andrews; Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale; Bin Inn Hamilton East, 1B/20 Clyde Street, Hamilton East; and Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan
Other
Cotton Buds – Go Bamboo makes home compostable buds so you can avoid the single-use, unrecyclable plastic ones. Get them from Go Eco, 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton; Bin Inn Dinsdale, Shop 34, 47 Whatawhata Road, Dinsdale; Organic Nation, 245 Commerce Street, Frankton; Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood; and The Herbal Dispensary, 6 Wallis Street, Raglan.
Toilet Paper – we would recommend Greencane and Smartass toilet paper as both are wrapped in home compostable packaging. You can get Greencane at Go Eco, 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton and Organic Nation, 245 Commerce Street, Frankton; just Smartass at Whole Heart, 6 Queenwood Avenue, Queenwood; and Shop Without Packaging (SWOP), 9A Bow Street, Raglan; and both Greencane and Smartass at Hearth Grocer, Lovegrove Lane, 1b/394 Grey Street, Hamilton East.
Reuse & Recycle
Xtreme Zero Waste, 186 Te Hutewai Road – as any Raglan local will know, Xtreme Zero Waste is a total taonga for the community, and for New Zealand generally. Since 2000, Xtreme Zero Waste has been managing and minimising Whāingaroa’s waste, with huge success; they currently divert about 75% of Raglan’s waste from landfill and this figure is probably even higher since the organisation instituted its food waste kerbside collection in mid-2017. But Xtreme is not just about kerbside waste collection, they’re also a resource and recovery centre of epic proportions! Go in during their opening hours and you can drop off all kinds of hard-to-recycle items (including e-waste, appliances, batteries and tyres), have your green waste put to good use, and leave with all kinds of diamonds in the rough (Xtreme rescues, repurposes, upcycles and resells items and materials that have been discarded, from wood, metal, building materials, through to bric-a-brac, clothing and books). Xtreme is an actual treasure trove and we would urge anyone to go and check it out (even if you are only visiting Raglan, it’s a legitimate destination!!)
Hamilton Organic, 18 Wickham Street, Frankton – want to make sure your green waste gets properly composted? Take it along to Hamilton Organics and they’ll sort it out for you. Check their website for pricing (you pay by weight).
Zero Waste Advocates and Support Networks
Go Eco (formerly the Waikato Environment Centre), 188-200 Commerce Street, Frankton – Hamilton’s wonderful environment centre is an excellent hub for all kinds of sustainable living, including tips and resources for low-waste lifestyles. Go Eco runs and also hosts workshops on how to garden, compost and make your own cleaning and bathroom products (essential skills if you want to embark on life without a rubbish bin!). They’re also home to a depot for recycling hard-to-recycle items, including electronic devices, batteries, light bulbs and toner cartridges – yus! Not only that, but these legendery people also run Kaivolution Food Rescue, a food redistribution service rescuing edible food that would otherwise go to waste from food retailers and producers around the city, and redistributing that food to community groups and people that need it.
Para Kore – Para Kore is an amazing organisation working with marae, kura and Māori institutions and businesses to transition towards zero waste. Their resources/services are free and their regional kaiārahi are totally fabulous. Para Kore’s national headquarters are located in Raglan, which is also home to the organisation’s General Manager, Jacqui Forbes. Para Kore’s Kaiārahi for Waikato, Hauraki, Maniapoto and Raukawa is Cheri van Schravendijk-Goodman – if you’re keen for some awhi with waste reduction, she’d be stoked to hear from you 🙂
Whāingaroa Environment Centre, 41 Bow Street – Raglan’s thriving environment centre offers heaps of projects that can help with low-waste living. They use sharing economies to reduce wasteful over-duplication of resources in the community, and increase access to high quality goods and services through initiatives like the tool library (reducing the number of households in the community that need to own their own tools) and Backyard Bounty. The environment centre also coordinates the community gardens around Raglan – a great way to learn to garden and compost (and to have space to garden if you don’t have much space where you live). Growing your own food is, of course, an excellent method of getting unpackaged food 😉
Zero Below – Hamilton local, Katie, has been living zero waste for several years and shares info about how she does this on her blog. She also runs zero waste workshops around the region, for businesses, councils, organisations and community groups. Get in touch if you reckon your community or workplace would be keen!
Share and Exchange
Toy Libraries – reduce the wasteful over-consumption of toys and save money by joining a toy library! Check out this guide to find the nearest Toy Library to you.
Raglan Timebank– we are quite fanatical about timebanking because it’s such an excellent way to share skills of creation and repair which reduces our reliance on corporations, our waste and our need for consumption. Raglan has a timebank, so if you’re interested, we highly recommend checking it out!
Crop Swap Raglan – an excellent way to get locally grown, unpackaged produce for free! Just bring something you’ve made by your own hands to share. Having started in Taranaki, Crop Swap is really sweeping New Zealand, so it’s great to have one on your doorstep in Raglan.
Raglan Tool Library – no need for every person and his or her dog to own a set of tools when we can all share them and reduce the over-duplication of resources. There’s a tool library in Raglan – well worth checking out!
Skills and Resourcefulness in Communities
Menzshed – 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. Check out this list to find the nearest Menzshed to you.
Community Gardens – growing your own kai is a great way to get food packaging-free (and just free generally…). There’s nothing like a community garden for helping you learn to garden and compost, or just providing you with a space to practice your skills, in an urban context. Community gardens are popping up around Hamilton, including Waimarie Community Garden at Hamilton East Community House, 53 Wellington Street, Hamilton East; and Grandview Community Garden.
Plastic Bag Free Hamilton East/Boomerang Bags – get yourself some lovely cloth bags instead of plastic shopping bags from the Plastic Bag Free Hamilton East crew. You can find their bags around Hamilton East, including Hearth Grocer, Lovegrove Lane, 1b/394 Grey Street. If you’re a sewer, sign up to help sew a few if you feel up to it! The Boomerang Bags movement is taking NZ by storm, so it’s a great opportunity to get amongst it 🙂
Plastic Bag Free Raglan/Pēke Kirikou Kore Whāingaroa – if you’re into the reduction of plastic bags in our communities, Plastic Bag Free Raglan is leading the way. You may have heard that, thanks to their efforts, Raglan’s Four Square has become the first in the country to go plastic bag free. Plastic Bag Free Raglan has also been working to produce beautiful, upcycled cloth bags for the community to use instead of plastic bags. You can get these around Raglan, including at the Whāingaroa Environment Centre. If you’re interested in being involved in sewing some of these bags, then you can join Plastic Bag Free Raglan’s sewing group, Bag It Raglan, which meets fortnightly to sew bags.
Hi guys 🙂 Great guide, thanks so much I’ll save it for future reference.
Keeping in the Hamilton East area, the Bakers Delight in Clyde St mall (near Bin Inn Ham East) is happy to put sliced bread in your own bag if you want. They did look at me a bit funny when I requested it but were happy to do so.
Also, for people who eat meat, the deli and butchery at Pak N Save Mill Street have been willing to put items into my own containers to save the soft plastics there as well.
is there any places that sell loose frozens ? I love smoothies but dont have any plants to feeze my own berries and I dont want to keep buying them in plastic. Any help would be great !!
Frozen berries is so difficult! All we can recommend is looking out for “pick your own” opportunities in season, picking heaps and then freezing them straight into things like ice cream containers in your own freezer. We don’t have the ability to do this as we travel fulltime and don’t have anywhere to freeze stuff, so have had to give up on frozen berries, unfortunately. But one day when we have a home again, our approach would be the “pick your own” approach, and also just going for it when berries are in season!
Hi,
Just to add into the Bakery section – Volare have a few different locations and bake sourdough loaves and buns. In paper bags or BYO ?
This guide is great! Thank you ❤
Kia ora Mikayla – the guide is a good start, but in need of attention – so thanks for sharing your great tip! Have just updated all the Volare locations on their website onto the guide 🙂
Countdown do a low cost unpackaged breads/buns in their bakery cabinets.
Aku – Reusuable pads – NZ owned and operated and LAYBY is an option.
Aunt Jeans Milk – Glass milk containers, can be brought at New world in Hillcrest. – Bottles can be reused for dry food items
7 Comments
Hi guys 🙂 Great guide, thanks so much I’ll save it for future reference.
Keeping in the Hamilton East area, the Bakers Delight in Clyde St mall (near Bin Inn Ham East) is happy to put sliced bread in your own bag if you want. They did look at me a bit funny when I requested it but were happy to do so.
Also, for people who eat meat, the deli and butchery at Pak N Save Mill Street have been willing to put items into my own containers to save the soft plastics there as well.
Thanks for this Leah! We will add these tips in – sliced bread into a BYO bag is a great discovery!
Hi There,
is there any places that sell loose frozens ? I love smoothies but dont have any plants to feeze my own berries and I dont want to keep buying them in plastic. Any help would be great !!
THANKS 🙂
Frozen berries is so difficult! All we can recommend is looking out for “pick your own” opportunities in season, picking heaps and then freezing them straight into things like ice cream containers in your own freezer. We don’t have the ability to do this as we travel fulltime and don’t have anywhere to freeze stuff, so have had to give up on frozen berries, unfortunately. But one day when we have a home again, our approach would be the “pick your own” approach, and also just going for it when berries are in season!
Hi,
Just to add into the Bakery section – Volare have a few different locations and bake sourdough loaves and buns. In paper bags or BYO ?
This guide is great! Thank you ❤
Kia ora Mikayla – the guide is a good start, but in need of attention – so thanks for sharing your great tip! Have just updated all the Volare locations on their website onto the guide 🙂
Just to add:
Countdown do a low cost unpackaged breads/buns in their bakery cabinets.
Aku – Reusuable pads – NZ owned and operated and LAYBY is an option.
Aunt Jeans Milk – Glass milk containers, can be brought at New world in Hillcrest. – Bottles can be reused for dry food items