Zero Waste on the West Coast

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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!

• Westfleet Fresh, 69 Gresson Street, Greymouth
• The Butcher’s Block, 17 Robinson Street, Blaketown, Greymouth
• The Butcher’s Block, 297 Kaniere Road, Kaniere
  Thomson’s Homekill Butchery, 26 Wanganui Flat Road, Hari Hari – call in advance to see what is available
• Stella Cafe & Cheesery, 84 Revell Street, Hokitika – you can get unpackaged cuts of expensive fancy cheese off the wheel into your own container.
• New World Hokitika, 116 Revell Street, Hokitika –  stocks unpackaged live mussels at a self-serve counter. We put them straight into upcycled ice cream containers/BYO containers rather than the plastic bags the stores usually provide.
• Four Square Franz Josef, 24 Main Road, Franz Josef – if you let them know in advance (for example, by giving them a phone call), the owners have specified that you can have unpackaged cuts of meat put aside for you to pick up in your own container.
• Unpackaged live mussels – New World Westport, 244 Palmerston Street, Westport stocks unpackaged live mussels at a self-serve counter. We put them straight into upcycled ice cream containers/BYO containers rather than the plastic bags the stores usually provide.
• BYO containers to supermarket delis – Most supermarkets have a deli section offering meat, seafood, olives and other antipasti, salads, lunch foods and more – all unpackaged. All Countdown supermarkets officially allow you to BYO container for these goods! Watch this space for New World and PAK’nSAVE to extend this practice to the South Island… Supermarkets with delis: New World Greymouth, 128 High Street, Greymouth; New World Westport, 244 Palmerston Street, Westport New World Hokitika, 116 Revell Street, Hokitika.

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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).

• Interfood Grocer & Cafe, 278 Palmerston Street, Westport – wholegrain, organic sourdough bread available here unpackaged
• The Future Dough Co, 31 Broadway, Reefton – just ask in advance about getting a loaf of bread into your own bag as it is otherwise prepackaged.
• Stone Oven Bakery & Cafe, 105 Revell Street, Hokitika
• New World Greymouth, 128 High Street, Greymouth
• New World Hokitika, 116 Revell Street, Hokitika
• Four Square Stafford Street, 140 Stafford Street, Hokitika – only bakery goods are unpackaged (not loaves of bread, but they may be willing to leave some aside if you ask…).
• Four Square Franz Josef, 24 Main Road, Franz Josef – owners are happy to set aside (i.e. not pre-package) some of their bread and baked goods if you let them know in advance.
• Most supermarkets (and even some Four Squares) stock unpackaged bread, bread rolls and/or bakery goods in their bakery section. New World Westport has a decent range – just pop them into your own bags!

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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. 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 Greymouth Sunday Market, Tai Poutini Polytechnic, 73-87 Tainui Street, Greymouth; and Revell Street Market, 51 Revell Street, Hokitika. For example, at the Revell Street Market in Hokitika you can get local honey in returnable/refillable glass jars (Paparoa Bee Company and Blue Spur Milk & Honey), and packaging-free produce from the Fruit Madness stall.
• Options for zero waste fruit and vege box delivieries – On the West Coast you have two options for zero waste fruit and veg boxes. Fruit Madness run a very affordable, packaging-free (apart from the occasional brown paper bag) fruit and veggie box delivery for Grey and Westland districts (there may be the odd brown paper bag). Most of the produce is NZ-grown too. Nice! If you’re into organics, then check out Fresh2U Organic Food Delivery – organic, Tasman-grown fruit + vege boxes with NO packaging delivered to your door, anywhere on the West Coast in an upcycled cardboard box! The odd item might occasionally come in plastic, if you don’t want this, simply say that you want a 100% plastic-free/packaging-free box when you set up your order and the business owner and packer, Lucy, will ensure no plastic gets in your box. If you’re looking for local, hassle-free organic produce that is zero waste, Fresh2U is absolutely one to check out!
• Unpackaged sweets and treats:
  • Box of Delights, 106 Revell Street, Hokitika – stocks a range of unpackaged sweets you can put in your own bags.
  • Sweet Alice’s Fudge Kitchen, 27 Tancred Street, Hokitika – makes and sells unpackaged fudge.
  • Four Square Stafford Street, 140 Stafford Street, Hokitika – stocks some snacks & sweets in bulk bins.
• Carnipaws, 25 Sewell Street, Hokitika – sells unpackaged bones, dog biscuits and treats for your pets – 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:

• UB2 Cafe, 92 Palmerston Street, Westport (roasts their own beans and the owner will happily put these directly into your own bags/containers without any packaging).
• Whanake Gallery & Espresso Bar, 173 Palmerston Street, Westport – you can get unpackaged coffee beans/ground by Underground Coffee Company put into BYO bags/containers.
• The Future Dough Co, 31 Broadway, Reefton will happily put coffee beans from their bulk coffee bags into your own container.
• Kawatiri Coffee Roastery at Virgin Flat Road, Cape Foulwind  – a bit off the beaten track, but the owners will happily put their unpackaged, freshly roasted beans into a BYO container – it’s worth contacting the roaster in advance if you plan to drop in to ensure that they will be around.
• The Cook’s Pantry, 35 Guinness Street, Greymouth – you can get Prima Roastery (a Christchurch based roastery) coffee beans in the store’s bulk dispensers.
• Fat Cat Coffee beans are available from the roastery, 693 Kanieri Road, Kokatahi (inland from Hokitika) – not always open so get in touch first
• The Hokitika Sandwich Company, 83 Revell Street, Hokitika – unpackaged Havana coffee beans
• Stella Cafe, 84 Revell Street, Hokitika – unpackaged coffee beans by Underground Coffee Company (just ask nicely and go at a time when the cafe is not too busy).
• Full of Beans Cafe, 2902 Franz Josef Highway, Franz Josef can put unpackaged coffee beans into your own bag/container.
• ALSO, a thing to be proud of, Westland District is one of the only places in the country with a cafe that has totally phased out disposable takeaway coffee cups! That’s the cafe at Ōkārito Kayaks, 1 The Strand, Ōkārito – awesome!

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 Cook’s Pantry, 35 Guinness Street, Greymouth.
• Bell‘s loose leaf tea is packaged in 100% paper and cardboard (no plastic) and is readily available in 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 – raw milk is available on tap from a vending machine at CJs Fresh Milk, 26 North Beach Road, Cobden, Greymouth. Simply BYO bottle to fill up, or purchase a reusable glass bottle there that you can then refill on future occasions.
• Milk powder in a bulk bin – available at The Cook’s Pantry, 35 Guinness Street, Greymouth.

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:

• West Coast Brewery, 10 Lyndhurst Street, Westport.
• Liquorland Westport, 207 Palmerston Street, Westport.
• Hopaholics Brewery, 25 Boundary Street, Greymouth
• Liquorland Recreation, 68 High Street, Greymouth
• Super Liquor Hokitika, 121 Revell Street, Hokitika
• The Bottle-O Hokitika, 56/60 Tancred Street, Hokitika.

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 – The Cook’s Pantry, 35 Guinness Street, Greymouth stocks organic drinking chocolate unpackaged.
• Kombucha – you can find Crafty Gran Kombucha at the Local Crafts & Honey Stall, (a few Ks north of Hokitika on State Highway 6). This is kombucha in refillable glass bottles (if you prearrange, you can also leave your own empty bottles for kombucha refills).

• Get the NZ-made Ideal Cup at Whanake Gallery & Espresso Bar, 173 Palmerston Street, Westport.
• Get the NZ-made Cuppa Coffee Cup at The Soapbox, 114 Palmerston Street, Westport; Paparoa National Park Visitor Centre, 4294 Coast Road, Punakaiki; GiftNZ, 23 Tancred Street, Hokitika; Sunshinz Fashion and Beauty, 29 Weld Street, Hokitika; Pukeko Store & Cafe, Main Road, Harihari; Full of Beans Cafe, 2902 Franz Josef Highway, Franz Josef; West Coast Wildlife Centre, Corner Cowan & Cron Streets, Franz Josef; Glacier Shop, 29 Main Road, Franz Josef; and Fox Glacier Guiding/Hobnail Giftshop, 44 Main Road, Fox Glacier.
• Find the Keep Cup brand at Scarlett & Co, 25 Palmerston Street, Westport; The Future Dough Co, 31 Broadway, Reefton; Ramble & Ritual, 51 Sewell Street, Hokitika (this cafe also welcomes BYO containers/cups for takeaways, and charges 50c extra for people who want their takeaways in disposable containers).
• Joco Cups are sold at Revell Street Market, 51 Revell Street, Hokitika.
• You can get Lower Hutt-made Ideal Cup with a ‘glacier’ logo at the Franz Josef i-SITE, 63 Cron Street, Franz Josef
• There are reusable stainless steel coffee cups sold at Glacier Motors (Allied Petroleum), corner of Condon Street & Main Road, Franz Josef, and Fox Glacier General Store, 37 Main Road, Fox Glacier.

Refills of cleaning products

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

• The Cook’s Pantry, 35 Guinness Street, Greymouth – stocks a range of commercial liquid cleaning products on tap, as well as nappy wash, laundry powder and dishwash powder unpackaged in bulk bins.

Low-waste dishwashing

Go Bamboo wooden veggie brushes with plant fibre bristles are home compostable (when they do wear down) and can be used as a handle-less dishbrush! These are available at Four Square Karamea, 103 Bridge Street, Karamea, and The Black & Dane Trading Co., 151-153 Palmerston Street, Westport.

We 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.

• You can get the Budget brand 100% cotton dishcloths at New World Greymouth, 128 High Street, Greymouth; New World Hokitika, 116 Revell Street, Hokitika; Four Square Franz Josef, 24 Main Road, Franz Josef; and On the Spot Express, 5 Pauareka Street, Haast.
• 100% cotton flannels that could be used as dishcloths are sold at the Hokitika SPCA Opshop, 108 Revell Street.
• For something a little more fancy, get the Bianca Lorenne 100% cotton cloths at The Vintage Tree, 81 Revell Street, Hokitika.
• If you want to try your hand at knitting or crocheting your own dishcloth, head to Sew Hokitika, 139 Hampden Street, Hokitika for your 100% cotton yarns (and potentially some assistance and advice!).

Laundry

• Eco Planet and Next Generation laundry powder brands both come in a cardboard box with no inner plastic lining, and the scoop is also made of cardboard. You can get one or the other of these at FreshChoice Westport, 18 Fonblanque Street, Westport and New World Westport, 244 Palmerston Street, Westport.
• SoapNuts – these are a home compostable alternative to laundry detergent and this particular brand comes in a cardboard box with no plastic lining. Find it at Revell Street Market, 51 Revell Street, Hokitika.
• Non-plastic clothes pegs – bamboo pegs (with a metal spring mechanism) are available at Four Square Karamea, 103 Bridge Street, Karamea; FreshChoice Westport, 18 Fonblanque Street, Westport; Four Square Reefton, 47 Broadway, Reefton; and New World Hokitika, 116 Revell Street, Hokitika.

Ingredients for DIY cleaning products

• Baking soda, washing soda, soda ash, epsom salts white vinegar – find these in the bulk dispensers at The Cook’s Pantry, 35 Guinness Street, Greymouth – BYO bottles/containers
• Bars of castile soap (which you can use as a base for homemade dishwashing and laundry liquid) – get locally made castile soap by The Crafty Chook (the castile bar is called Naked As”) at Hokitika i-SITE Visitor Information Centre, 36 Weld Street, Hokitika. Otherwise you can get Dr Bronner’s castile soap bars at Health 2000, 112a Palmerston Street, Westport and Health 2000 Greymouth, 81 Mackay Street, Greymouth.

NB: For a whole range of zero waste bathroom products, check out Daily Use which runs out of Hari Hari! You can order items online, but you can also arrange pick-up if you’re local. Mean!

Bamboo Toothbrushes 

These are 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 get these at:

• Four Square Karamea, 103 Bridge Street, Karamea
• FreshChoice Westport, 18 Fonblanque Street, Westport
• The Black & Dane Trading Co., 151-153 Palmerston Street, Westport
• A Wild Peace Wellness Centre, 122 Palmerston Street, Westport
• Four Square Reefton, 47 Broadway, Reefton
• New World Hokitika, 116 Revell Street, Hokitika.
• Glacier Shop, 29 Main Road, Franz Josef
• Fox Glacier Guiding/Hobnail Giftshop, 44 Main Road, Fox Glacier.

Unpackaged bars of Soap 

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

• The Soapbox, 114 Palmerston Street, Westport – lots of variety (Indulgence Soap, Buckley & Phillips Aromatics, Inga Ford, Spa and in house made).
• The Black & Dane Trading Co., 151-153 Palmerston Street, Westport
• Pancake Rocks Cafe, 4300 Coast Road, Punakaiki
• Greymouth Sunday Market, Tai Poutini Polytechnic, 73-87 Tainui Street, Greymouth
• Nimmo Gallery & Store, 102 Mackay Street, Greymouth – locally made by Blue Spur Milk & Honey and Fair & Square, made in Northland.
• Flair, 79 Mackay Street, Greymouth – Nelson-based Global Soap
• The Cook’s Pantry, 35 Guinness Street, Greymouth – locally made by Omoto Valley Soap
• Westland Pharmacy, 10 Weld Street, Hokitika
• Fleur De Lis Florist, 109 Revell Street, Hokitika
• Revell Street Market, 51 Revell Street, Hokitika – locally made by Blue Spur Milk & Honey.
• Hokitika i-SITE Visitor Information Centre, 36 Weld Street, Hokitika – locally made by The Crafty Chook.
• Tui Gallery, 20 Main Road, Franz Josef – locally made by The Glacier Soap Company.
• Glacier Base Gift Shop, 63 Cron Street, Franz Josef – locally made by The Crafty Chook.
• Glacier Shop, 29 Main Road, Franz Josef – felted soap.

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!

• Get locally-made shampoo bars at Torea Gallery & Craft Shop, State Highway 67, Granity.
• You can get Blue Spur Milk & Honey shampoo and lotion bars, as well as various lotions/salves which are either packaged in compostable cardboard or in glass jars which you can return to be washed and reused, at The Soapbox, 114 Palmerston Street, Westport; Nimmo Gallery & Store, 102 Mackay Street, Greymouth; and Revell Street Market, 51 Revell Street, Hokitika.
• Flair, 79 Mackay Street, Greymouth – stocks Global Soap’s 3-in-1 shampoo/shave/shower bar.
• Hokitika i-SITE Visitor Information Centre, 36 Weld Street, Hokitika – stocks two types of shampoo bars locally made by The Crafty Chook.
• Tui Gallery, 20 Main Road, Franz Josef – stocks shampoo bars locally made by Glacier Naturals.

Reusable Menstrual Products

There are zero waste, low cost alternatives to disposable sanitary items like tampons and pads. Menstrual cups are popular with many women. These are stocked at Westland Pharmacy, 10 Weld Street, Hokitika and New World Hokitika, 116 Revell Street, Hokitika.

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 NZ Barber Shed, 182 Palmerston Street, Westport; and High Street Barber, 12 High Street, Greymouth. Many pharmacies also stock shaving brushes, such as Buller Pharmacy, 168 Palmerston Street, Westport; and Unichem Olsen’s Pharmacy, Corner Tainui and Guiness Streets, Greymouth.

Ingredients for DIY toiletries/cosmetics

• Get baking soda and epsom salts from bulk dispensers at The Cook’s Pantry, 35 Guinness Street, Greymouth (BYO containers!)

Other

• Fox River Bath Co makes a range of cosmetic products, and many of the containers can be returned to the company for reuse/refill. The Black & Dane Trading Co., 151-153 Palmerston Street, Westport stocks a range of their products and are happy to be a drop off point for their empty jars/containers.
• Cotton Buds – Go Bamboo makes home compostable buds. Get them from The Black & Dane Trading Co., 151-153 Palmerston Street, Westport; and FreshChoice Westport, 18 Fonblanque Street, Westport.
• Get reusable nappies and unpackaged bath bombs at the Greymouth Sunday Market, Tai Poutini Polytechnic, 73-87 Tainui Street, Greymouth.
• Tahi Skincare oil blends, which come in glass vials with metal screw lid, are sold at Nimmo Gallery & Store, 102 Mackay Street, Greymouth.
• Glacier Motors (Allied Petroleum), corner of Condon Street & Main Road, Franz Josef sells individual rolls of toilet paper, wrapped in tissue paper.

Reuse and Recycle