Our refill system – how it works and why it’s such a win for the environment

We’ve been proud stockists of Fill Refill refillable cleaning products for over 4 years now, with 2.5 of those been in our previous Warwickshire based shop. When we relocated some 200 miles away to Durham, we weren’t sure whether we’d be able to continue offering a refill service because we no longer had a physical shop.

However, we came across the Coxhoe Market at the Coxhoe Village Hall and took a chance with some hand soap and washing up liquid. We brought them along to the market with us, and the response was fabulous, exactly what we wanted, and needed to help continue reducing waste.

Our current collection of refillable cleaning is small in comparison to what it once was, but we’ve had to adapt to a new way of working, and let me tell you, hauling 20 litre drums of liquid is hard work! So currently, we offer just 4 products, whilst hoping that we can gradually add to this as time goes on.

So how does the refill system work, and what can you get from us?

We have 5 Fill Refill products available in our refill station that we take to the Coxhoe Village Hall market on the first Saturday of each month (with the exception of January, when there is no market). The products available are:

• Hand soap
• Washing up liquid
• All Purpose cleaner
• Bathroom cleaner (which by the way is AMAZING for clearing limescale!)
• Laundry Liquid

We buy in 20 litre drums of each cleaning product from the Northamptonshire based Fill Refill. We chose this company because they were very local to our shop in Warwickshire, and their products are incredible, so we stuck with them after our move. We use the drums to refill your bottles, and then when they are empty, they are returned to Fill HQ where they are cleaned and reused – creating an absolutely superb closed-loop system, meaning there is no waste! A win for customers, and the environment!

When we are at the market, you’ll find us (almost always in the left-hand corner as you come in) with our 20 litre drums, weighing scales and pre-filled glass bottles, ready and raring to refill!

I’ve put together a few frequently asked questions here, that will hopefully help you understand the system even more.

What do I need to do?

This is the easy part – just bring along your bottle that you want us to fill, and we will fill it. If it has had another cleaning product in before you bring it, give it a wash, so there is no contamination. Don’t worry about that if you’re bringing along a bottle we’ve refilled for you already, if the same product is going in, there’s no need to rinse it out.

Even if your bottle still has some Fill hand soap in for example, but you know you won’t make it to the next market, bring your bottle along. We will weigh your bottle before filling, so you only ever pay for what we’ve put in on the day.

How do I know what I’ll be paying for? 

We have weighing scales, so we will weigh (and tare to zero) your bottle before we fill it, then weigh it again once filled, so the price will be determined by the weight of what goes in to the bottle. Typically, you’ll expect a 500ml bottle to be around £2 for all purpose, washing up liquid and bathroom cleaner, and around £3 for hand soap refill, but as mentioned, it’s all down to weight so it will vary slightly.

I don’t have a bottle at home to refill, can I still use this system?

Yes! Absolutely. We have a collection of pre-filled glass bottles ready to buy at the market. These are around £5 (again, depending on the weight of the contents). These bottles can then be brought back to the market and refilled over and over too.

The glass bottles are very strong, although, of course, we appreciate that not everyone will be comfortable with a glass bottle. This is where we encourage you to get creative – we don’t have to refill a conventional cleaning product bottle! So long as it’s clean, has a lid and won’t leak, we can fill most containers and label them for you. We’ve had empty milk bottles in the past, mayonnaise jars, and old drinks bottles too, which means more use for these as well – another win for the environment! I’m on the hunt for the most unexpected container, so join the fun, what’s the most unlikely thing I could refill for you!

What if I can’t make it to the market? 

No problem, we are based in Coxhoe, so although we would prefer to manage the majority of our refills at the market, if you can’t make it, just message us and we will arrange a suitable way of organising your refills for you.

Update as of May 2025: We now also stock our Fill glass bottles at Wing and a Prayer on the Coxhoe High Street. We host regular pop up refill stations there too, so check out our social media pages for details of these.

Why should I switch to refilling?

Because this is one of the easiest ways of reducing waste, especially when it comes to single use plastic. Rather than buying a bottle of hand soap and putting it in the recycling when its finished, this way, you are choosing to reuse said bottle, meaning its life is extended, and you have one less thing to throw away. Imagine if every person refilled one bottle of hand soap instead of buying new bottles each time – that’s millions of single use bottles not used. As individuals, we might not see the impact of making one swap, but the impact collectively of every single swap has the potential to be huge.

At our market in June 2024, I refilled 12 bottles. So if this happened at each market throughout the year (11 in total) that would be 132 single use bottles avoided. So you see, there is power in just one swap as a collective number. Sure 132 singe use bottles is not going to stop climate change, but it IS playing a part in making a difference, and that’s what we’re about.

Want to know more about Fill & Co?

You can find out more about Fill & Co through their website, where you’ll find more about their products, their extensive accreditation list and so on.