TWO friends have given the plastic-free revolution momentum by opening their first shop.

Heather Banks and Ceri Lones, from Fiveways, have transformed a former dry-cleaners in Ditchling Road into a waste-free shop called The Store.

Customers are encouraged to take empty containers to fill up with goods sold in the shop including pasta, rice, herbs, spices, coffee, dried fruit and more.

Household cleaning products, shampoos, conditioners and soaps in large bottles with pumps are also at the ready to fill containers.

Most of the products are sourced from nearby independent businesses.

Ceri said: “Picture it as the new corner shop – but it’s plastic-free. Ideally we would have one of these shops in every area so that people don’t have to travel to shop waste-free.

“It has to be really easy for people to recycle and live waste-free for them to actually do it.”

The new sustainable store has the first and only peanut butter machine in Brighton.

Since opening, Ceri said a customer’s video of the machine processing the dried peanuts into a creamy, smooth butter went viral on Facebook and has boosted business already.

The women will also be introducing a nut milk machine where customers can purchase the ingredients from the shop and bottle their own dairy-free milk.

Ceri said: “Everyone is ready to embrace it. The idea of plastic-free and reusable coffee cups and water bottles is definitely a thing now and it’s great to provide a waste-free shop.

“It’s an experience in itself for people to come in and shop using a plastic-free system.

“I love the dent tabs we have. You just pop the pill in your mouth and use your toothbrush and a bit of water and it works perfectly for brushing your teeth.”

The friends, who both work at the charity Dolphin House Clinic, only opened the Store on Saturday and said the response has been incredible.

Heather said: “Ceri described the shop like a nightclub and it really was. It was packed in here.

“We knew it was going to go down well but it was just amazing how successful our first day was.”

The Store is open from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5.30pm.