Two very different Wigan enterprises are doing their bit to eliminate unnecessary waste

After being made redundant from her marketing job during the pandemic in 2020, Amy Bithell, started her own small potted-plants business which has since flourished and branched off into a slightly new direction.

The 30-year-old, from Hindley, decided that losing her job was actually the perfect opportuninty to follow her passion and finally become an entrepeneur, so she started her own small business in August 2020, Little Pot Plants, with the help of her mum, Janice Bithell.

Her business has since grown as they moved to Makinson Arcade in April 2021 but have now moved to a bigger permanent premises within the arcade where they have just launched new a zero-waste refill station in-store along with other eco-friendly home-living concept products and plant workshops too.

Ms Bithell saw a gap in the Wigan market to introduce an sustainable-living concept to her store and is hoping to encourage people to shop more conciously and reduce their household plastic waste by bringing their own containers to refill crisis.

Ms Bithell said: “The move has given me an opportunity to do more with that bigger space.

"So we’ve introduced a zero-waste refill station which is currently for mostly liquid refills like: shampoo, conditioner, washing-up liquid, laundry detergent and fabric conditioner.

"It’s something that I’ve always been passionate about as I always try to shop more conciously where I can but unfortunately there’s not many zero-waste shops in and around the Wigan borough.

"To have something in the town centre is great for people to be able to access and to also to help create awareness because a lot of people that come into the store don’t even reaslise that this is an option for them.

“It can work out quite cost-effective, especially if you buy branded products and refilling actually saves a lot of plastic containers going into landfills or having to be recycled, where not all of it can be recycled anyway.

“We’re hoping to get the word out and and help make sustainable living more popular in Wigan by offering people an eco-friendly alternative that kind of goes hand-in-hand with caring for plants and connecting to nature.”

Another Wigan enterprise contributing to a zero-waste future is Bailiff’s Bar, on King Street, with its experimantal Eco-Friendly Tipples.

Their conscious cocktails are designed to taste good, help reduce food wastage and are all made using fresh produce and fruit from local supplier.

More recently, they have made use of other fruits to produce long-lasting powders that come in the flavours: strawberry, grapefruit, orange and mint, they also preserve grapes to make their own raisins.

Bar manager Phil Melling said: “Our goal towards sustainable practice is to utilize our ingredients to their fullest potential which is why, to cut down on food waste, all our fruit is dehydrated before it reaches the end of its life.

"Inevitably, these measures would mean less goods in transit which would reduce emissions from products being imported from farther areas, not only that, but bitters and syrups are able to be made from the produce the bar is already using and saving."