eco zero/waste shops

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I am all for saving the world, being as eco friendly as possible...BUT......am I the only one that looks at these zero waste shops where you fill up reused containers, scoop your dried goods out of tubs and pump out your washing up liquid into a jam jar etc, am I the only one that looks at it and be dubious? Its the big bottles of cleaning products that get me. Huge bottles that all look the same with labels on, but having descaler next to hand wash, next to toilet cleaner all the same colour is asking for trouble in my opinion. Maybe I am fussy or something who knows, I just wondered if anyone else has the same mixed feelings about these kinds of shops. Good in principle, excellent in fact, but in reality, not done properly could be disastrous ( thinking peanut allergies etc)

I always think hygiene, cross-contamination and staleness could be issues. I don't see why you would buy some of what they sell at inflated prices, such as oats, flour, sugar, honey when you can buy these in paper bags and glass jars anyway.

wowfudge exactly, hygiene problems and contamination is bound to happen. I think it would be impossible to prevent as to how these shops operate. I understand the desire to be eco friendly, (we actively looked at living off grid years ago, but I couldn't get past the compostable toilet!) As for the eco shop, I think once I thought about a persons reused tub (have they was washed it??) under the hoppers, or lidded boxes and nose drips as they scoop, I felt a bit ill.

A shop near us has despensing cylinders on the walls not scoops so no contamination issues.
I don't shop there because as pp said, the price is no different to a supermarket and the effort I have to go to getting it is! The shop is in the city centre and would take a special trip to get pasta and oats. It isn't conventient and until it is both convenient and cheaper, it isn't going to catch on!

I think that it's a different way of living, but I'm very much for it.

The price is likely higher because these stores lack economies of scale at present. I live in the USA where it's quite common for grocery stores to have bulk sections, and there is much less of a cost premium attached. If Tesco or Sainsbury's did it and it caught on, the price would come down. It does require more in-store labour though, so there's that to factor in.

This is USA-specific, but the FDA inspects both hygiene and allergen control procedures for bulk tanks. I know in my local health food store they have warnings up re: possible contamination in the nuts/dried fruit and granola section and for airborne triggers (wheat flour for coeliacs), and like products are grouped together.

There’s one of these near my sister but it’s nowhere near me unfortunately. I know she uses it but I can’t get to it easily unless i’m Visiting her. Shame really as i’d Like to do my bit.

I know what you mean re. Hygiene standards. I think we can and should make changes to be more environmentally friendly but I think we can only do as much as we can do. I've been following this account on insta and they have opened a store online to help people transition from a single use mindset to a multi use one and it's worth looking at- reco.shop

I asked about this at our local one of these shops, it was with references to the loo cleaner getting mixed up with soap, it’s not as big a disaster as it would be in say, Tesco, because even the loo cleaner isn’t particularly toxic. In-line with their ethos the stuff is environmentally friendly and wouldn’t be harsh on your skin anyway (whether you feel it does a good enough job on your loo or not is another debate).

Even if they cater for the gluten tolerant non nut allergy population (of which I am not part btw) then it is a start imo.

We used to offer Ecover refills when we had a village shop. The canisters were different sizes for some products. Also you could tell which product it was by how fast it came out (hand soap took bloody forever!) and what colour it was etc.