About SALT JAR refillery
SALT JAR refillery was born from the desire to reduce single-use plastic pollution and make low-waste living simple, convenient and accessible to all islanders.
With this in mind, our mission at Salt Jar is to get high-quality, consciously-sourced, plastic-free grocery essentials to Islanders in an easier, cleaner way.
The products are sourced from a variety of vendors who sell premium products in returnable totes. It’s not an easy feat to accomplish when the grocery world relies heavily on convenience plastics. There are a small (but growing) group of grocers working to make change and SALT JAR is proud to be a part of it.
Refill ~ Return ~ Repeat
There are two ways to shop at SALT JAR refillery.
1. In store. Bring your own bottles/jars and containers to fill with an assortment of home, body and pantry supplies. Items such as: Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, Soaps, deodorant Household Cleaning Supplies (laundry, dishes, all-purpose) and pantry favorites like Organic Oils, Vinegars, flour, pasta, frozen protein, eggs and cheese.
2. Online. Order SALT JAR refillery items alongside your weekly localsalt favorites (done on this site). Items for pre-order come in a returnable glass mason jar or wrapped backyard compostable material if they don’t fit in a jar (spaghetti, crackers etc.) Just order what you need, refill your existing containers and return your jars for credit the next time you pick up!
We know it takes more thought than grabbing laundry soap off the shelf- but it was done before plastic and we can do it again. Our society has become increasingly dependent on plastic products, so making the shift to living with less plastic (and, eventually, living plastic-free) can sometimes be challenging. But let me tell you- it feels really good.
Make it a game in your house… what can we upcycle, reuse or refill?
Your favorite cheezies probably will not likely be available without the bag anytime soon- so start with items you are a little less attached to. Good ideas are household cleaning supplies, milk, yogurt, spices, oils and vinegars.
Tips & Tricks:
- Find cooking funnels- these work well for emptying contents of the jars into your own containers.
- No need to run out and buy 50 mason jars. Upcycle your current containers. Next time the quinoa, paprika or dish soap runs out- just order and refill the container.
- Go look at your recycling and garbage. What do you think you could replace next time around?
- Write down why you are making the change to plastic-free and stick it on your fridge.
- Follow SALT JAR refillery on Instagram for more ideas.
A New Routine
It’s hard to change our habits overnight- so start small. But just like sticking to a healthy diet and exercising, living a low-impact lifestyle becomes routine. The benefits of living plastic-free are so profound that it makes sticking to the habit more than worth it. Just like supporting local producers- everything we buy is a vote for the kind of world we want.
Open: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00am – 5:00pm
Location: 344 Lower Ganges Road (between Dagwoods and Golden Island).
Fully accessible.
SALT JAR refillery has partnered with the Zero Waste Emporium in Victoria! We bring them Saltspring goods and fill zero-waste orders once a week. This way we can guarantee quality as this awesome shop is super busy, with fresh orders coming in daily. So rest assured, there are no old jars sitting on a shelf for months- it flies out the door too quickly!
Some products that are hard to fit into a jar (I’m talking about you spaghetti and crackers… ) are wrapped in butcher paper or sugar cellulose bags. Both are backyard compostable or make great fire-starter.
Buying food by weight is something that not everyone is familiar with- so we took the guesswork out of spices. For example- a typical spice jar could fit 100g of garlic but just 15 grams of dried parsley because it is lighter. So we list spices by what would fit in your existing empty spice jar. We also decided to pack them sugar cellulose bags- so cutting the corner and filling jars is easier than spooning it in.
Please give them a good rinse or pop them in the dishwasher. Don’t worry about taking off the labels- we will take care of that. When we receive them they go though a commercial dishwasher and are ready to be refilled.
