A NEW eco-friendly shop that focuses on minimising waste and and shopping sustainably has opened in Bradford.

Better Weigh of Life opened its doors in Idle last week, and sells food and household products by the weight to minimise plastic and product waste.

Owner, Angie Pike, 52, who described herself as an "avid recycler" said everything in the shop has been thought through so it's as sustainable as possible.

She said: "I've been interested in recycling and stuff for a long time and I've wanted to do a shop for a long time but it was Covid that kind of gave me the momentum really.

I sell all cleaning products, on the understanding that people bring their bottles and containers and I refill them to stop any packaging or plastic needing to be used"

Angie said she sells food products by the weight, such as nuts, seeds, dried fruit and cereals, but also cleaning products that are all either made from recycled products or are plastic free.

"I want to make people more aware of reducing plastic waste but also reducing food waste as well so they only need to buy what they actually need," she said.

Angie has tried to keep the prices as 'competitive as possible' with supermarkets, but she said "it might cost a little bit more than normal shops but I think people who are interested in being concious about reducing plastic are prepared to pay that little bit more because they feel they're doing their bit towards sustainability."

She added: "I've kept it really basic to begin with, I haven't brought all the fancy dispensers and things like that because I want to keep my prices down. The shop itself I've tried to do as sustainable as possible. A lot of the woodwork I got for free, the paint I got for free, I tried to keep all my cost down as much as possible. A lot of my box and tubs neighbours saved for me. Just to kind of show that we can be savvy if we want to be.

Angie quit her job as a mental health nurse to look after her elderly parents, and after losing her dad she thought 'why not' about following her dream. She said: "I just thought that I've got nothing to lose and I fancied the idea of being my own boss and giving it a go. Life's too short and I think if I didn't do it, I'd regret it."