Meet the Business Promoting a Zero Waste Montclair
by Leila Brown
Have you ever wondered just how much plastic you go through on a yearly basis? When you’re dragging those blue bins full of empty plastic to the curb, do you ever ask yourself what you could be reusing? If your answer is yes, then you’re not alone. With 23% of all landfill waste coming from containers and packaging, people who are conscious of their carbon footprint on the planet have been searching for solutions and alternatives to traditional recycling. That’s where the Good Bottle Refill Shop comes in.
Good Bottle Refill Shop is the first ever refill/zero waste establishment of its kind in the state of New Jersey. Good Bottle offers refills for hand & dish soap, laundry detergent, cleaning products and bath & body products. Customers can bring their own container (or buy one at the shop) and pay only for what they fill. Good Bottle also carries a fantastic array of zero waste supporting items almost completely replacing single use products. One of their most popular items is an unpaper towel system and a reusable ear swab.
The first ever Good Bottle Shop was born out of necessity in 2019 in neighboring Maplewood when mom, businesswoman and Essex County resident Deanna Taylor-Heacock set out to find a greener lifestyle for she and her family. “I had all the cleaning supplies, our bath and body, all my kids' shampoos and body washes, I had, our All-Purpose Spray, and it was all just trash. I'm literally buying everything in my cart is going to get thrown away.” Taylor-Heacock recalled as she lamented on her days of pricey trips to big box stores in search of family essentials.
When she set out to find a refill solution nearby, she found that not only was there no refill store in the county, but there were none in the entire state. Out of this gaping need came the Good Bottle, finally allowing residents in and around Maplewood to lessen and in some cases eliminate their weekly, monthly and yearly output of plastic waste.
In a little over a year and a half, Deanna(who was impressively named "2020 Mompreneuer of the Year" by New Jersey Family Magazine) had seen enough growth in Maplewood to bring her second refill storefront to Montclair. Montclair families can now step into the bright and beautifully lit space that is both intimate and inviting in the quaint shop bathed in natural light and scents of fresh linen and lemon grass.
The main feature is the signature refill station that allows customers to fill their containers with Good Bottle’s own brand of dish detergent, laundry detergent, and hand soap. Not only are all three products American made, but they’re made with the cleanest ingredients and no added dyes or scents. Good Bottle also features an array of in-home essentials such as heart shaped “bath bombs” for your toilet, a three in one makeup crayon, and even mouthwash in tablet form.
The Good Bottle Shop is now open to the general public to come in with their empty plastic and glass(any container will do!) containers to fill up on exactly how much is essential to their lives!
