Filling Good Maidenhead

Filling Good is a zero waste shop on the High Street in Maidenhead. It is a not for profit community low waste shop that offers ethical, local and affordable products to inspire a sustainable lifestyle.

Founded by Nelly Semaille back in 2019, Filling Good began life in Maidenhead as a pop up refill shop in the Nicholson’s Centre. Since then, Filling Good has grown with the help of local volunteer Directors. The shop is owned and run by the community – for the community, on cooperative principles.

This friendly and welcoming space is the first and only carbon neutral shop in Maidenhead. They use renewable energy, products are sustainable, volunteers walk or cycle to work and a large proportion of profits are donated to organisations that are committed to creating a sustainable world.

What you can buy at Filling Good Maidenhead

Filling Good sell a wide range of food, household products such as cleaning refills and eco-friendly gifts. Food products include: Pasta and grains, oils, bread, baking, frozen food, coffee, herbs and spices, sauces, cereals, oils, dog treats, sweets and more. Visit their website for a full list with prices.

They also sell health, beauty and artisan craft which can be found in store.

How does it work?

Simply bring in your own containers from home. You can be as creative as you like! The containers then get weighed before you choose what you would like to fill them, so you pay for the cost of the contents – not the packaging. All you need to do is make sure you label them. The volunteers in the shop will help you if you are unsure.

If you are in town and have forgotten your containers, Filling Good do have some preloved jars, bottles and reuseable bags for sale.

Click and Collect and Drop and Collect services

You can use the Click and Collect service by heading to the website (link above). Check the price list and then email your detailed shopping list, including the product and quantity to: shopping@fillinggood.co.uk (no liquids). Once your order is ready, you will receive a payment link via text and your shopping is ready to be collected (within opening hours).

You can also use the Drop and Collect service by dropping off your labelled containers to Filling Good (with detailed product name, your name and phone number). They will be filled for you, and once you have paid (the link will be texted to you) then they are ready to collect.

What Nelly Says

How important is it to increase the use of refill shops?

Very important indeed! If you only take plastics, the UK consumers are throwing away an absurd 96 billion of plastics every year, therefrom 83% are food and drinks. Only 12% of all plastics is recycled, the rest is either burnt, landfilled or… exported in other countries. Contrary to what people believe, most plastics are being recycled only once, so recycling is not the solution… Avoid to create waste in the first place makes so much more sense! And don’t be fooled – other packaging material also have their flaws! A paper bag might have a better end of life that a plastic as it can be composted, but it produced twice more greenhouse gases to be produced… Refuse, reduce, reuse is what we need!

Do you feel that some people feel put off by using them?

Overall, our customers are really proud to make a difference, and love the products, the price, and how nice the volunteers are with the customers.

Some people believe that we are very expensive, but when they really compare the price and quality, they come back for more!! Some find it takes too long to shop this way, but our volunteers are here to help you speed up the process if you need 🙂

Do you think major supermarkets should start adopting the refill idea in their stores?

Of course they should! We need millions doing zero waste imperfectly rather than a handful doing it perfectly. Until they change, we are here to show it is possible and bring change on our scale! It is very rewarding and fun to be part of our community!