Frodsham Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.

We will be profiling some of these local businesses and organisations regularly over the coming weeks in a feature called 'Up Close In Frodsham'.

Today we caught up with Maddy Fowler, founder of Mere & Meadow Eco Swaps.

Mere & Meadow delivers zero-waste personal and household care items to homes all around Frodsham, Warrington and Northwich.

"The idea for [the business] was sparked when I moved to Cheshire and began making my own small changes, mostly in the bathroom at first, to begin living with less plastic," says Maddy.

"While there were opportunities to shop plastic free in the major centres of Chester and Warrington, I didn't travel into town very often.

"Therefore, during lockdown in April, I launched Mere & Meadow, a local business that brings plastic free living to doorsteps across many parts of Cheshire.

"There is definitely more of an appetite for plastic free alternatives in the UK now than in the past. This is largely thanks to the 'Blue Planet Effect', caused after Blue Planet II screened in 2017, showing shocking images of the impact of ocean plastic on marine animals."

According to the Canal and River Trust, every one of our rivers and canals carry 1,562 pieces of plastic out to sea every single day.

This means that, between them, the Rivers Dane, Dee, Mersey and Weaver, along with the Manchester Ship, Bridgewater and Trent and Mersey Canals release more than 500,000 plastic items into the ocean each year.

"Unfortunately, coronavirus has seen a new wave of single-use plastic pollution in the form of disposable masks and gloves," Maddy reminds us.

"Still, more and more bulk, refill, plastic free and zero waste stores are opening around the country, supplying a rising demand from people who want to avoid single-use packaging, especially when it comes to food packaging," she adds.

And thanks to Mere & Meadow, customers based in a Warrington postcode, including more rural areas, can now enjoy these products without leaving the comfort of their own home.

Mere & Meadow sell a wide range of household items, from recycled toilet paper, to kapok tree pulp sponges, to naturally sourced dental floss.

They are all made from sustainable materials, helping you to conserve the natural environment, even while you wash the dishes or brush your teeth!

"Our most popular plastic free swaps are the hand soap and washing up liquid in our refillable eco cleaning product range," Maddy adds.

"These are in glass bottles and are available in refills delivered to your door—just like getting milk from the milkman.

"Popular alternatives to plastic in the bathroom are our solid shampoo bars, natural deodorant in glass jars, and natural beech toothbrushes."

Mere & Meadow's efforts to remove avoidable, single-use plastic from its products qualified it for a nationally-recognised "Plastic Free Champion" award from environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage.

"Plastic Free Champion Businesses are also integral to campaigns for towns across Cheshire to become Plastic Free Communities," Maddy explains. These firms help wean the local community off its reliance on single-use packaging, reducing the amount of plastic waste entering our environment.

To get involved in the Plastic Free Frodsham campaign, click here.

Mere & Meadow's plastic-free and zero waste bathroom, kitchen and laundry alternatives, including refillable cleaning products are available for delivery to Frodsham and WA6.

This week marks the 17th annual Recycle Week, making it the perfect time to begin buying sustainably sourced products for your home.

Orders are delivered within three business days (weekdays) and can be placed on the Mere & Meadow website.

You can also get £5 off your next order if you refer a friend to Mere & Meadow.