Today’s Solutions: February 14, 2025

Ella Shone’s ‘Topup Truck’ started out 20 years ago delivering morning milk to bleary-eyed Londoners. Now, the vehicle’s got a new lease on life as an electric-powered zero-waste goods delivery truck.

After being furloughed from her sales job as a result of the coronavirus pandemic last spring, Shone used savings to start her new business, delivering packaging-free food and home care products around London in a former ‘milk float’ — a small truck that was once a ubiquitous sight on British streets.

The idea behind Shone’s venture is to make it easier for people to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. The process is simple: consumers place an order for their desired products online and Shone brings it to them in her milk float. “The fact that I’m driving around in a milk float does a lot for raising awareness in the local area,” said Shone. “So now I’m operating at almost full capacity.”

Once customers have booked a visit from the ‘Topup Truck’, they then purchase goods such as lentils, pasta, olive oil, shampoo, or washing liquid using their own refillable containers, leaving no plastic waste behind.

Since she started her zero-waste business, Shone calculates that her service has saved more than 12,700 pieces of plastic from becoming waste. The entrepreneur now plans to retrofit her milk float to enable her to expand her zero-waste delivery to more communities, and inspire others to find creative ways to cut waste. “If we want to have real change, it has to be a collective effort,” she said.

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

This Canadian didn’t want to fly from Germany to Canada—so he took a cargo ship

When Will Vibert’s European work visa was closing in on its expiration date, the Canadian was reluctant to travel back to Vancouver via plane. ...

Read More

The psychological reason we’re so taken with Wordle

If you use any kind of social media platform, you may notice the sudden appearance of gray, green, and yellow boxes in grids cluttering ...

Read More

Hunger stones, dino tracks, and lost cities; discoveries exposed by drought

The severe droughts that are plaguing many parts of the world are altering life as we know it. Even though the climate crisis and ...

Read More

3 healthy habits to boost your immunity this cold and flu season

A mild headache that just won't go away, a box of tissues by the bed, and sleeping uncomfortably with your mouth wide open... It's ...

Read More