Foxy's Deli and Cafe, situated on Victoria Road in Penarth, has recently started up a zero-waste food venture.

The store, which has already received its plastic free status in Penarth, wanted to go a step further by offering their customers a zero-waste shopping experience.

They now stock a wide range of 'loose' food items which can be purchased completely plastic-free.

Sian Fox, the owner of Foxy's, spoke to Nub News about where the idea came from. She said: ''I was looking up the Ripple store in Roath, she is the one that started this zero-waste thing all off for us.

''The name Ripple means that she doesn't care if other businesses are copying, it's meant to have that effect, which I think is brilliant.''

The waste generated from their own business was also a concern for Foxy's. She said: "We realised, just from putting our recycling out as a business every week, those big blue bags were so full of plastic milk bottles.''

''So, it started with changing to glass milk bottles. Everyone has gone wild about it because people feel good when they do it. They drop them back after they've used them and it all starts all over again.''

''Then we thought what else? So, we started looking at the other things and we began realising how much plastic everything has.

''We've just ditched all our packets of nuts and seeds and everything and changed to this Zero-Waste system.''

The walls of foxy's are now lined with dispensers filled with cupboard foods like rice, pasta, lentils and couscous.

They also have a large selection of herbs and spices which are sat next to their freshly ground peanut butter machine.

Customers are encouraged to bring their own containers to fill up but there are also a large array of glass jars for people to use who haven't bought their own.

How have the people of Penarth responded?

''At first people didn't really know what to do but now everyone loves it'' Sian Fox said.

''The support from Penarth has been very overwhelming. People bring in all their empty jars and glasses for others to fill up with our new products.

''People feel better about that as well. Some people won't buy anything but they feel like that they have contributed.''

One of the benefits of zero-waste purchasing is the ability for customers to choose how much they purchase.

Sian Fox said: ''Lots of people come in just because they want a little bit of something. We have a lady that comes in and says 'oh I just want that little bit of pasta, just enough for me', so we get a variety of people coming in for different things.

''The herbs and spices you can literally buy a teaspoon of if you want.

''And all of the products are organic and of course plastic free.''

The next step for the business is feedback. Sian Fox said: ''We would love to hear from customers about what they would like to see in the store zero-waste wise.

''I've been collecting bits from people and it's really interesting to hear what they want. We'd love to have suggestions.''

''We are already looking at other ideas like incorporating oil and vinegar into the zero-waste experience and we want to do more.''

If you have any suggestions for the shop you can let us know and we will pass the feedback on or get in touch with Foxy's by clicking the red button below.