Frequently Asked Questions

How Do you ensure that your bottles are fully cleaned and sanitized?

The Clean Refill high-pressure washes all used containers, and then allows the containers to air-dry before fully sanitizing them with a UV light.

Where does The Clean Refill deliver?

The Clean Refill delivers to all addresses within the Columbia city limits.

How do Refills Work?

If you sign up for a Cleanscription, product refills will be delivered in complimentary containers on the weeks you request delivery, and if you are not ready to return your used container when you get your first refill delivery you can keep your used container until the second refill delivery. This way customers will always have two containers on hand (although you only have to pay for one), providing the opportunity to fully empty one container before returning it to be cleaned.

If you do not sign up for a Cleanscription, you can order a product refill on the website, and at check-out you can either request delivery or pick-up.

If you request your refill to be delivered, The Clean Refill will first pick up your used container on the delivery day following your order, clean and refill it, and deliver it on the subsequent delivery day for a fee of $4.00. Container pick up and delivery is free for refill orders of $60 or more. Container pick-up and delivery days are on Wednesdays and Fridays.

If you request your refill to be picked up, you can pick-up your refill in a new container at the next Clean Refill pop-up event. The new container is free of charge as long as you return the used container when you pick up the new container.

Customers must pre-order product refills for pick-up to ensure your product will be available at the pop-up. Clean Refill pop-ups are at 110 Orr Street on Thursdays from 4:00- 7:00 pm and on Saturdays from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm.

Delivery vs Pickup, which one is right for me?

New product delivery in new containers is $3.00. Used container pick-up and product deliveries (required for product refills and customers who use their own containers) is $4.00. Both options are only available within the Columbia city limits. If you sign up for a Cleanscription, you can receive regular product delivery and used container pick-up for $3.00 a month and 10% off of all products.

Product pick-up is free and available to all residents of Mid-Missouri. Products can be picked up at 110 Orr Street on Thursdays from 4:00- 7:00 pm and on Saturdays from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm.

How do Cleanscriptions work?

To receive regular product delivery, container pick-up and 10% off all products, customers can sign up for Cleanscriptions.

Product refills will be delivered in complimentary containers on the requested weeks, and if customers are not ready to return their used container when they get their first refill delivery they can keep their used container until the second refill delivery. This way customers will always have two containers on hand (although you only have to pay for one), providing the opportunity to fully empty one container before returning it to be cleaned.

Starting with the second refill delivery, customers are required to leave one used container out for pick up when a new product is delivered. The Clean Refill is only able to provide the product refills in complimentary containers because customers return their first containers to be cleaned and refilled.

Reminders will be sent out the week before delivery, so customers can remember to leave out empty product containers.

Why do I have to pay for the container when I order my product for the first time?

The Clean Refill sells all of its liquid products in reusable glass bottles to meet its zero waste goals. These containers are more expensive than plastic containers and the cost of the containers is not included in the product costs. To make the zero waste containers accessible to all customers, The Clean Refill sells these containers to its customers at cost. Customers are only charged for the container when they buy a clean refill product for the first time. All product refills are provided in complementary containers as long as the customer returns their used container before they receive their product refills. (Cleanscriptions allow you to keep your used container until the second refill delivery. This way customers will always have two containers on hand, providing the opportunity to fully empty one container before returning it to be cleaned).

How do you use your own container?

Learn more about using your own container.

Why is reuse better than recycling?

Recycling is a great step towards reducing waste, but, unfortunately it is not enough, especially when it comes to plastic waste. Only 9 percent of plastic, including what we add to our own recycling, is actually recycled¹. There simply are not enough industries to recycle all of the plastic waste we produce. Plastic waste is so prevalent that it is in our soil, air and water². Marine plastic debris has negatively impacted 86% of all sea turtle species³. The best way to prevent further plastic waste is to stop buying single use plastic products and to start buying reusable, non plastic products, which is what The Clean Refill sells!

How does The Clean Refill achieve Zero Waste and Sustainability in its Operations?

The Clean Refill receives a number of its products in reusable drums. When the drums are empty it returns them to the supplier to be cleaned and refilled, fulfilling its zero waste cycle on the wholesale level.

Almost all of The Clean Refill packaging is reusable, including the reusable bottles in which its liquid products are sold and the cloth bags in which its soap, shampoo, lotion and deodorant bars are sold. The only Clean Refill packaging item that is not reusable are its labels, which are required by the Food and Drug Administration. However, all Clean Refill labels are made from post consumer recycled materials (purchasing products that are made from recycled materials is the best way to support the recycling industry so that waste products have a place to be recycled).

We operate The Clean Refill out of our home, where we had solar panels installed 3 years ago. We also make deliveries in either our fully electric vehicle or our hybrid vehicle, and we are saving funds to purchase an electric cargo bike for deliveries. The Clean Refill aims for environmental sustainability at all levels of its operations because it believes that businesses can lead the way towards healing the planet and protecting future generations from environmental degradation.

How can one consumers’ purchase help our giant plastic waste problem?

The average American produces 77 pounds of plastic bottle and jar waste a year⁴. If every person in the U.S. (approximately 332 million⁵) started buying products in reusable containers, instead of throwing away each container they used, we could reduce our total waste output by more than 12 million tons a year (more than the combined weight of 2 million elephants)!

Where does The Clean Refill get its products?

The Clean Refill currently purchases products from three, U.S. based wholesalers.

Most of The Clean Refill’s face, hair and body care products are from Essential Wholesale and Labs, based in Portland, Oregon. Essential Wholesale and Labs sources sustainably-harvested and worker-friendly ingredients for its products. It also purchases organic ingredients whenever possible (you can see the % breakdown of organic ingredients for its products listed on The Clean Refill website). Essential Wholesale and Labs never tests on animals and they are Leaping Bunny certified. Their facility is powered with a large solar panel array and products are transported to The Clean Refill with carbon neutral shipping.

The Clean Refill’s soap and shampoo bars, hand soap and castile soaps are made by Oregon Soap Company. Their products are artisan crafted with organic ingredients, certified organic by Oregon Tilth. Oregon Soap company plants one native tree or plant for each 10 bars or 5 gallons of soap sold!

The Clean Refill’s house cleaning products, dish and laundry soap are made by Brightly Green, based in Louisville, Kentucky. Brightly Green’s products are plant based, kid and pet friendly, cruelty free and 100% biodegradable. All of their products are approved for People and the Planet by Green America.

The Clean Refill would like to sell more local products. If you are a local producer of cleaning, soap or beauty products and you would like to sell products through our store, please contact us!

¹ A whopping 91% of plastic isn't recycled.. National Geographic. December, 2018.

² Plastic Planet: How tiny particles are polluting our soil. United Nations Environment Program.

³ The Problem - Our Throwaway Lifestyle.. Clean Water Action.

⁴ National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Waste and Recycling U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

⁵ U.S. and World Population Clock, U.S. Census Bureau.