There's been a movement, especially in recent years, for people to move towards refilling their single-use items.
Things like soaps and shampoos are oftentimes available to refill.
Tampa's Resupply Market is a low waste store, selling earth-friendly home goods to help change your single-use plastics to more eco-friendly alternatives.
Jessica Palenchar, Owner of Resupply Marketsaid, " I realized that there are so many people who care and really want to help the environment, but they didn't have easy access to things. And so the whole point of opening our store was to consolidate all of those many different things into one place and make it a one-stop-shop."
Palenchar also offers some simple solutions anyone can make:
- Buy in bulk rather than a bunch of smaller single-use items
- Bring reusable bags to the grocery store.
- Try using Swedish dishcloths to replace paper towels.
In Hernando County, the Florida Maker's Mercantile just opened a refillery.
Nicole Teele and her husband opened the shop after they noticed how much waste they were accumulating.
The couple started by making simple swaps to reduce their single-use plastics and decided, after seeing their impact, to open the Refillery.
"It's just it's really sad to think that the future generations here are going where it's going," Teele said. "So we wanted to do our best to make a small difference. And I feel like if a lot of us come together and work together, our little changes will have a big impact. "
Part of Teele's passion is making sure Brooksville and the surrounding area stay beautiful, so her daughter and future generations have something to look forward to.
"I think a lot of people get overwhelmed by thinking like how do I live a zero-waste lifestyle," said Vimary Vera with Lufka, Tampa's first zero-waste store.
Every product inside their three Tampa Bay locations is refillable. The store offers more eco-friendly containers and they're all made locally right here in Tampa Bay.
"The importance of being eco-friendly is the impact that we can make like we can start off at the community level. But obviously the more of us in the community that do it, whether it's St. Pete, Clearwater, or Tampa, we can expand that and make differences in legislation and make differences for our community at a local level, and at a state level. Being eco-friendly is also really easy, we try to make it as easy of a concept for you to do every product that we have, is something that everybody needs," said Vera.
On Saturday, Lufka is also holding a beach clean-up at Gandy Beach for Earth Day.
