A crowdfunder launched by zero waste shop TopUp Truck has made over half of its £7,000 target within hours of it going live.
TopUp Truck mobile shop—a converted milk float—travels through Hackney delivering zero waste shopping, such as by selling refillable food, to residents. The sustainable initiative was set up and self-funded by Ella Shone. She was on furlough during the national lockdown, and the truck has since gained many loyal customers. TopUp Truck has also increased its range of household goods from 45 to almost 100 products. Now it includes dried mango, toilet roll and stationary.
The money raised will allow the shop to add to the more than 12,000 pieces of plastic that it has already saved from being used by Hackney residents.
Apps and upgrades from crowdfunding money
“I didn’t know how [the Crowdfunder] was going to go as it’s such a challenging time for everyone at the moment,” said Shone. “But I thought, because of the community nature of TopUp Truck, that a Crowdfunder would work really well. I’m pretty overwhelmed with the support we’ve had so far.”
She added that she plans to use the money and renewable materials to upgrade the truck. This will facilitate an extension to its hours from a three to a five-day week, and an expansion into serving different areas of London.
If she exceeds her target, she is looking to invest in an app, as well as in reusable containers. Shone hopes the latter will encourage those who struggle to find their own containers to get involved. “The whole concept is about removing obstacles to living and shopping in this way,” she said.
Will the pandemic set back sustainable initiatives?
Bettina Maidment, founder of the Plastic Free Hackney campaign group, is a regular customer. “TopUp Truck is a brilliant way to introduce people to bulk shopping that is convenient,” Maidmend said. “Also, because of the demographic of Hackney, people care about these issues.”
Maidment, however, has some concerns. “I am worried that the pandemic is going to cause a real setback to all of these little gains that we’ve had,” she said.
The pandemic has indeed seen an increase in single-use plastic, but also a greater cognisance of our environmental impact. Shone is hopeful this will bode well for TopUp Truck’s mission of reducing the use of unnecessary packaging.
“During the pandemic, we’ve seen a shift away from reusables and back towards single-use, for example, coffee cups,” she said. “I think that’s heightened people’s awareness of the fact that we need to do something about reducing waste.
“There’s been a number of different conscious awakenings during the pandemic with regards to how people treat each other and how they consider their relationship to the environment.”
