Is Adam & Eco A Leeds Zero Waste Shop?

We've been running Adam & Eco for over 3 years now & until quite recently would never have described ourselves as a Leeds zero waste shop.

Whether our products and/or packaging is compostable or biodegradable, if it has to go through a process like recycling or waste collection then it's waste.

SO WHAT'S CHANGED?

Quite a lot! The main thing though is the rise of refill shops in Leeds city centre that sell products with no plastic packaging that use this term, along with other groups & organisations trying to help reduce plastic waste. If you search on Google for plastic free shops in Leeds, refill stores like these will likely pop up. Do the same for zero waste stores & you'll likely see the same results.

WHAT IS WASTE?

Look up the definition of waste & you'll likely see that it's anything that is no longer wanted.

SO WHAT DO WE THINK ZERO WASTE IS?

In our opinion this is not creating any waste at all. For example buying any product loose in it's original state without packaging.

BUT WHAT DO THE ZERO WASTE SHOPS & OTHER GROUPS SAY?

Well there's a few varying thoughts but generally it seems to be any recyclable, compostable or biodegradable product that doesn't leave a visible trace on the planet, like plastic. So cardboard packaging would be classed as zero waste.

SO IS ADAM & ECO ZERO WASTE?

According to what we have seen we are, as almost all of our products and/or product packaging is biodegradeable & compostable, however we really don't believe we are. For us any waste that has to go through a process to compost or degrade is waste. It may not be on our planet for as long as plastic, or cause as much harm, but for us it is still waste.

OUR FINAL THOUGHTS...

Those that shop with us, especially at our Leeds soap store know just how hard we try in being eco-friendly. We can't do everything green but in our opinion every little helps, but be honest about it. We are & always will be. It's written in our Our Values