Where to bulk buy in Edinburgh | Weigh To Go

Over the past couple of months, there’s been a surge in the number of bulk buy shops opening in Edinburgh. We now have three more in the city – The Eco Lager,  The Refillery, and Weigh To Go. 

Luckily for me, Weigh To Go is literally round the corner from my flat in Leith which makes it perfect for doing some plastic free shopping.

If you’ve never been to a bulk buy shop before then it can be a little strange. Unlike a supermarket where everything comes in packaging (most of which seems to be wrapped in plastic these days), bulk buy stores allow you to shop package free. You just take it your own containers, weigh them before you begin, fill them up with whatever you want, and then the take it to the till for a final weigh in.

I visited Weigh To Go on the first week it opened, and it had lots of great items for sale including nuts, seeds, spices, oils, pulses, popcorn, and even nutritional yeast, which if you’re vegan is very exciting!

It’s not just food though, the shop also has a range of toiletries like shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste and safety razors. The shop is also due to start making their own nut butter and nut milk in the near future too which is bound to be really popular. The staff are also really keen to get in products that people want, so feel free to suggest things to them online or in the store when you pop in.

There seems to be a lot more awareness at the moment about just how damaging plastic is to the environment, and there’s definitely a huge appetite for change. While many supermarkets have promised to cut down on plastic, a lot of their goals are still years away which is why shops like Weigh To Go are so good. It’s also really important for people to support local businesses, especially those on their own doorsteps.

One of my goals for 2019 is to be as plastic free as possible. It’s very difficult to remove all plastic, for example I can’t buy spinach or salad without it coming in a plastic bag. However, bulk buy shops like this do make it easier to cut out a lot of the other plastic I might otherwise use.

Have you ever been to a bulk buy shop? If you have then i’d love to know what shops you’ve been to and what you like to buy.