Bridge Refill Market Owner Christine Twining said the store is her contribution toward creating a more sustainable and eco-friendly Erie, through community efforts to stop single-use plastic waste one bottle at a time.
Bridge Refill Market, 285 Cheesman St., opened its doors July 1 after being a dream of Twining’s for years.
Twining said the refill store allows customers to bring in their own containers to fill with their products of choice. Customers pay for products by weight. Bridge Refill offers products from food and cleaning products to personal care products.
“Our goal is to help reduce our plastic waste here, as a community,” Twining said.
Twining said that if everyone in her 125-home neighborhood went through a bottle of laundry detergent a month, by the end of the year that single neighborhood would have accumulated 1,500 plastic bottles. She says she hopes her store invites community members to try to make a difference and reduce their plastic waste.
“In my heart, I want to make it as accessible to as many people as possible. I want this place to be a place of love and acceptance and meet people where they are,” Twining said.
Twining said she also wants Bridge Refill Market to help residents reduce their food waste. Twining said she loves trying new curry recipes, which often means buying spices she knows she will not use often. Twining said the refill store allows her and others to buy just the right amount of spice and avoid having extra that might get thrown away.
Twining said she is selective about choosing what products to sell at the store. She said she wants to ensure that businesses she promotes also share her vision for sustainability. She also said she knows the store might feel intimidating to people who are “not environmental enough” or “granola enough,” but that she believes small changes can make a huge difference.
“Every refill is a celebration, that’s one less container going into the landfill,” Twining said.
She explained that some habits are just ingrained in people, and she wants to offer sustainable options like biodegradable single-use plastic bags.
Twining lived a nomadic life and lived in a lot of different countries. She said having to move every couple of years made her realize just how much stuff she actually had, and she knew then, that she wanted to take responsibility for her plastic waste.
Very quickly, Twining was overwhelmed because she thought that while she and her family were being more sustainable, it was just a drop in the ocean compared to the rest of the world.
When she lived in Ethiopia, Twining said she knew she had privileges and resources that few other people there had, and she felt embarrassed she could not share those privileges with everyone. But one day a friend told Twining that she could give everything she could away, and she still would not make a dent in helping people in Ethiopia. Rather, Twining should focus on helping to uplift one individual and start a ripple effect, and slowly lift each other up, the friend said. That conversation struck with Twining.
“I live here, and I wanted to make a difference in my community here, and that’s where my efforts are,” Twining said.
Twining said she recognizes how hard it can be to switch products. Her store offers things like biodegradeable plastic bagts to help people change their habits.
Every little action counts, Twining said.
“It’s amazing what we can do together,” Twining said.
Pat Vero, executive director of the Erie Chamber of Commerce, said having Bridge Refill Market in the community gives the town a competitive edge, as it is the first and only refill store in Erie.
“Bridge Refill Market is dedicated to sustainability, significantly impacting both local and global communities. They aim to reduce environmental impact by conserving resources and minimizing waste,” Vero said.
More information about Bridge Refill Market is available at bridgerefill.com.
