A former Crickhowell pub ‘saved’ by locals will be home to Wales’ first ‘zero waste’ shop, as the group unveiled their first two new shopkeepers. ??Natural Weigh, a food store tackling wasteful packaging, is the first shop set to open its doors within the new Corn Exchange on Crickhowell High Street next year.

The new shopkeepers, Robin and Chloe Masefield, said customers will work with a weigh-fill-pay system in a store stocked with organic produce.

Chloe Masefield – who will be running the shop with husband, Robin – said, “The throw-away consumer culture means that a growing number of unwanted plastic items are discarded into our seas every year, posing a threat to people and wildlife.

“Despite growing demand for a reduction in plastic packaging, consumers do not often have the opportunity to reduce their plastic packaging consumption.

“Our shop will offer customers the chance to exercise their rights and allow them to choose an alternative.

“We will offer food free from packaging waste, enabling customers to re-use containers again and again to collect their consumables.”??

The couple are hoping that other High Street traders – many of whom already offer paper or compostable bags as an alternative to plastic – will join them and further reduce plastic waste in the town.

Robin Masefield said, “We aim to give residents of Crickhowell and beyond the chance to do almost their entire household shopping without the need for disposable packaging and eventually reduce the amount of household refuse by over 50 per cent for our customers.”

The former Corn Exchange pub in Crickhowell was under threat of being turned into a conventional supermarket in 2015, but local residents protested and the application was withdrawn. Since then, 250 mainly local shareholders have clubbed together to buy the building and convert it into three flats and three shops.

Corn Exchange Crickhowell Ltd’s managing director, Dean Christy, said, “We are thrilled that Rob and Chloe want to open up Wales’ first zero waste store in The Corn Exchange. We stopped a conventional supermarket because it would have threatened our town. Now, The Corn Exchange will help to protect not just our unique High Street and the independent shops within it but also the countryside around it and the world in which we live.”

Zero waste shopping is popular in some European countries, and the United States, but has only recently caught on in the UK. Totnes in Devon, a similarly independent town, has one.

Gill Bell, the Marine Conservation Society’s head of conservation in Wales, said, “We’re really excited that Wales is to get its first zero waste shop in Crickhowell. The overuse of plastic packaging and single use plastics generally is spiralling out of control. But we know that people are happy to use less plastic – the success of the 5p carrier bag charge in Wales is testament to that.

“We would urge people to try and shop ‘zero waste’ and take those good habits to their local supermarkets and refuse to buy items that are over packaged.”

Natural Weigh will now be fitted out with new dispensing hoppers and it is hoped it will be fully open in March 2018.

The occupants of the second shop unti have been revealed to be a baking couple who left Crickhowell because they couldn’t find a permanent place to trade from are

Darryl Evans and Michelle O’Donnell-Evans started selling their luxury brownies from Crickhowell’s Market Hall in 2013. Their home-baking enterprise proved a huge success and they started looking for a shop to trade from but they couldn’t find a suitable premise.

Michelle said, “We love Crickhowell and desperately wanted to stay. We explored every nook and cranny but couldn’t find anywhere feasible in the town centre to trade from.

“In the end we made the difficult decision to set up elsewhere, away from our family and friends. It was hard but we’ve visited regularly and always said we would come back if we could.

“When we heard about The Corn Exchange we knew this was our chance and wanted to be part of this really special project.”

Darryl and Michelle were prominent members of Crickhowell’s Totally Locally movement and helped promote Crickhowell’s uniquely independent High Street before they left.

Now they are bringing their range of luxury brownies back to Crickhowell, along with several specially selected gourmet coffees and teas. In January 2018, they will launch their vegetarian and vegan brunch-style menu. And the shop will also showcase their increasingly popular brownie wedding cakes, brownie towers and brownie wedding favours.

Darryl said: “Our brownies were very popular in Crickhowell and many people have kept in contact with us since we were here. Since the chocolate shop left town, we feel there is a gap in the market for luxury sweet goods and a growing desire for vegetarian and vegan cuisine.”

The couple also want to turn Odonnell Bakehouse into a hub for the thriving arts community in the area. Darryl said: “Crickhowell is a very special place and we want to help the town to flourish.

“In time, we want to do themed tastings with seasonal foods, using the fantastic local produce that is available, and hold events to give up and coming artists and musicians a venue where they can be viewed, heard and enjoyed by as many people as possible in Crickhowell and the surrounding areas”.

Darryl and Michelle will take the largest unit in The Corn Exchange, which is now owned by 250 mainly local shareholders.

Managing Director of Corn Exchange Crickhowell Ltd, Dean Christy, said: “We are delighted to welcome Odonnell Bakehouse back home to Crickhowell. Their brownies were immensely popular when they traded from the Market Hall and it is a measure of their success that they now want a shop to trade from.