New SLO County shop lets you refill containers with lotions, detergents and more

When Tracy Anders-Young walks through a grocery store’s cleaning supply aisle, she gets a headache.

“It hits you in the face with the scents and smells that didn’t feel good,” Anders-Young told The Tribune. “We tried some alternatives with ‘green’ products … but some days I didn’t have $80 a month to spend.”

Her headaches and a quest for more affordable, toxin-free products caused her to start her own business: Central Coast Refillery.

As its name suggests, the refillery is a place to “refill” on products like laundry detergent, cleaning products, lotions, shampoo, conditioner and general household materials.

Central Coast Refillery opened Aug. 15 at 5835 Traffic Way in Atascadero, with Anders-Young at the helm. After four months in its brick-and-mortar location, the refillery has filled 803 containers, or 9,640 ounces of clean products.

“That’s how many we’ve cut out of the landfill,” Anders-Young said. “You can’t walk into a store and have access to the majority of the low waste or biodegradable products. Honestly, it’s shocking to me that it’s not available to the general consumer.”

The shop’s main supplier is Rustic Strength, an Ozarks-based cleaning and wellness product company whose toxin-free, plant- and mineral-based ingredients don’t give Anders-Young the headaches she would normally get with regular cleaning products.

When you visit Central Coast Refillery, you can either bring your own container or purchase one for $3 to $5. The containers are weighed before being filled with cleaning products, laundry detergent and bath and body goods, then reweighed to only account for the product.

“We will weigh your container, and then you fill it up as little or as much as you want of your favorite product,” Anders-Young said. “You’ll notice that everything is priced by the ounce, so then we’re subtracting the weight of your container, and you’re only paying for what’s inside.”

Products like laundry detergent are priced at 20 cents per ounce, with customers bringing in containers of either 12 or 16 ounces, Anders-Young said.

Shampoo is marked at 66 cents per ounce, conditioner for 88 cents and lotion is 93 cents. Anders-Young said the average total spend from a trip to Central Coast Refillery usually adds up to between $20 to $25.

Not only do customers usually pay less per ounce at the refillery, but they end up using less of the concentrated products since they’re not diluted down like large name brands, Anders-Young said.

“With the laundry, you’re not going to fill up the cap,” she said. “You’re only going to use about one ounce or two tablespoons. I really try when I have customers come in, we talk about that, when we’re using less, you are actually paying less. And I have people come to the register and they’re like, ‘That’s it?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, isn’t that awesome?’”

Cleaning products aren’t the only materials found at Central Coast Refillery — dental floss, pet shampoo and spray, reusable razor sets and Anders-Young personal favorite, refillable toothpaste, are also among the offerings. The business also supports local vendors, with pottery soap dispensers, terra-cotta jewelry and Templeton chocolates sprinkled throughout the store.

Anders-Young’s husband is currently crafting sweatshirts for Central Coast Refillery, with statements like, “We judge your vibe, not your container” to destigmatize the judgment around single-use containers.

“I’ve had a few people come in, and they’re nervous about the container that they’re bringing in, and there’s zero judgment about the container,” she said. “I don’t care if it’s plastic. I don’t care if it has a pump, a mason jar. I even have containers in here for purchase that are plastic, because I don’t want there to be a barrier between who can refill.”

For more information

Central Coast Refillery is located at 5835 Traffic Way in Atascadero and is open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (except for Tuesday, when the shop is closed) and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. For more information about the new refillery, visit its website at centralcoastrefillery.com.