A NEW waste and plastic-reducing shop has opened its doors in Wellington.

The Blue Pantry, Fore Street, opened on Saturday (September 1).

Owners Kate and Gary Todd were inspired to open the shop after visiting a different one elsewhere in the country.

Mr Todd said: "We opened at 10am after a very long night of cleaning and making sure everything was ready.

"It has been so busy, we have had so many people in, and everybody has been very positive. There has been no negativity whatsoever. It really feels like a community.

"We have had lots of conversations about supermarkets and about how here you can buy as much or as little as you want."

They aim to give Wellington residents the opportunity to use less plastic and produce less waste.

Mrs Todd said: "We want to be quite open and transparent. We aren’t saying there is no waste, but we are making it a lot more self-contained.

"People should come and have a look. It might not be what you expect."

The shop features dry goods such as nuts, pastas and flours which people can buy in their own containers to save on plastic packaging.

Mr Todd added: "People have been filling up with just about everything, and we made a suggestion list which has become quite extensive.

"We opened with the minimum amount of stock we needed and then we hope to add what people want.

"It is about the people of Wellington owning the shop and then us stocking it for them."

Gary will be in the shop day-to-day with Kate helping on her days off from working in care.