Tips to navigate a more Zero Waste lifestyle in and around Cork City and County. Please contact us to add other places or events you know about at zerowastecork@gmail.com

Refill / Zero Waste shops

• The Quay Coop: they are back to having a good refill section, make sure to bring your refill sachets as you cannot weigh your own containers. And remember what you put in the sachets to tell them at the till.
• Mr.Bell in the English market: some refills there like rice, pulses, grains. You even get a discount if you bring your own sachets or jar and they can weigh it for you.
• A lot of stalls in the English Market will let you bring your own containers, like the organic shop, the Olive stall, MyGoodness. Always ask 🙂
• Markets are also a great place to get your fruit and veg without plastic wrappers, from the city centre on Saturday mornings to Douglas or Mahon you have such a good selection of markets throughout the week. Check out the full list of markets here.

Repair & Swaps

• Cork repair cafés: regular repair events where you can get help to repair different household items, bikes, clothes. Held either at Rebel Reads or the Lough community centre. Check out their webpage or Instagram to get the next location and date.
• Cork Clothes swaps: there are several ad hoc clothes swap events but you can always count on Cork Clothes swap when you are looking for a very professionally run events, which happen once a month. They also have thematic events and clothes repair demos. Check out their website or Instagram page.
• Check out UCC env society Instragram page for regular events there if you are a student. Amongst other things, they regularly organise repair, upcycle, or clothes swap events.
• Second-hand furniture shops are also a great way to give away or get furniture. Check out RetroFern (next to the QuayCoop), It’s a deal, CJM furniture, SVP in Cobh (by Lidl).
• ReLove paint: even paint can be reused. You can get good quality, affordable paint produced by three social enterprises using paint which they collect from local authority civic amenity sites. You find them in the NCE in Farranferris in Cork city, in Cycle Sense in Skibbereen and in Duhallow REVAMP in Newmarket.

Larger Cork area

• Gather, Ballinspittle: Gather is a community grocer. They have a large selection of fresh produce, fruit, veg and fridge items but also some pantry items to refill like teas and herbs. Make sure to bring your own egg box if you can ! Find them on Instagram.
• Earth Way, Midleton: the Earthway shop, just off the main street has a nice selection of refill items, both pantry and household. The Italian owner also prepares some food, and you can enjoy a cafe there too. Check out their Instagram page.
• The Olive Branch, Clonakilty: The Olive Branch on Spiller’s Lane in Clonakilty has a great selection of local fresh produce, all the pantry goods and a full refill section. We love the local raw milk, and everything else really. Their website can be found here.
• Markets again are a great resource, and there are so many amazing markets across North, East and West Cork that showcase great local producers. Check out the full list of markets here.

General swap / reuse resources

• Olio: an app where people share free items or food they not longer use. Very handy to empty some things in the house you don’t need anymore or find bits you need for free.
• The Toy library: it started locally and is now available all over Ireland. Instead of getting new toys that will not last long, give away and get new toys for free. They also hold in-person events regularly, so check out their webpage and their Instagram.
• Too good to go: an app to avoid food waste where cafes, bakeries, shops put up their leftovers at the end of the day.
• FB Marketplace and Facebook groups: there are a lot of swap / reuse / sell second-hand groups on Facebook.
• Charity shops and second-hand shops: the ultimate second-hand places; there are some amazing shops dotted all over Cork city and across many towns. We think of clothes a lot but you can get all sorts of household items in second-hand shops, a great place to find original presents. There are great second-hand bookshops too, such as Vibes & Scribes in Cork City, Prim’s in Youghal and Kinsale.