The BBC documentary War on Plastic really showed that recycling plastic isn't really the solution... the best way is to reuse," she said. Alice Wilkinson, who founded the shop with friends Susan McEwen and Phillip Rankin, said they could never have predicted the response since opening in September but believes they have 'caught the wave' of environmental awareness, especially in relation to single-use plastic.

Alice Wilkinson fills a container with washing liquid at the Refill Quarter shop on the Belmont Road in east Belfast. Picture Mal McCann Instead, customers bring their own jars, bags, containers and even pillowcases and fill up with the amount they need. Like all their produce, the liquid is environmentally friendly, does not contain harsh chemicals, and, says Ms Wilkinson, is the same price as standard supermarket brands.The most popular food stuffs to date among Belfast customers include pasta, rice, coffee and lentils but leading the way is freshly ground peanut butter. We also have a donation library where people can bring in their spare containers for other customers to use". Because customers only buy what they need, there is less wastage. We get people who bring in a huge container for porridge oats or someone who just wants 300 grammes of flour or two tablespoons of a particular spice. Scopers will offer a range of dishes — including burgers, fish, desserts as well as a vegan option — but the menu will change with the seasons every two weeks, ensuring only the freshest meals will be served up to foodies travelling from near and far to try it out.

It's a whole different approach and it is a transition. Not everyone is ready for it and it will be a slow change, but a change all the same," said Ms Wilkinson. The shop may be the first of its kind in Belfast but sustainable shopping is a growing movement, with London, Birmingham, Leeds and Cardiff among other cities to have such stores. Did you know we sell bicarbonate of soda? • Often called baking soda it's commonly used in baking recipes but it can also be used for household cleaning. • Do you have a special use for it at home? Let us know in the comments, we'd love to hear.And we have had the Greta Thunberg movement too and the focus on climate change. There is such social awareness of the environment now. Toiletries include deodorant in a bar and clay-based toothpaste and, like many of the products, both are made in Ireland. He now hopes to bring this same passion of local ingredients into his latest culinary venture and has opened his first ever eatery with the ethos of using only sustainable and locally sourced foods served in biodegradable containers. BELFAST appears to be embracing its first 'zero waste' store, with one of its founders describing the response in the first month as "amazing".