Zero waste and refill shops near Palo Alto

Palo Alto set a zero waste goal back in 2005. Households here sort compost, recycling and garbage into three carts. Cutting packaging before it reaches the cart is harder. The city has no dedicated refill shop in our directory, the kind of store where you bring your own bottle and buy laundry soap or shampoo by weight. A few low-waste businesses within about half an hour fill that gap. The city's rules and programs help with the rest.

Because there is nothing inside city limits, this page widens to Los Altos, Los Gatos and San Mateo and says where each business is. We checked each one on its own website in late October and early November 2026. One of them, Right On Refillery in Los Altos, says it is relaunching, so we flag it rather than send you there blind. Small shops change hours often, so check before you drive with a trunk full of empty jugs.

Refill shops at a glance

Ethos, Los Gatos

Ethos is a low-waste shop from Santa Cruz County with a store in Capitola and a second at 59 North Santa Cruz Avenue, Suite H, in downtown Los Gatos. Its locations page lists Los Gatos hours of 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. The Capitola store at 101 Capitola Avenue is open every day from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The home page was celebrating seven years of refilling in late 2026.

Ethos calls the refillery the core of the business. It refills personal care and home cleaning products in the quantity you need, so you can top up half a bottle instead of buying a new one. The shelves also hold reusable alternatives to disposables, such as shampoo and conditioner bars and bamboo travel flatware. For customers who cannot visit, Ethos sells shippable refills online and runs refill services for businesses. Our Los Gatos guide covers the rest of the town, so a refill run can double as lunch on Santa Cruz Avenue.

Right On Refillery, Los Altos

Right On Refillery at 300 State Street in downtown Los Altos is the closest refill shop to Palo Alto on paper, about 10 minutes south. Its website says the shop is relaunching its Los Altos store and thanks Ethos for looking after its customers in the meantime. The same site shows two different weekly schedules, one for the shop and one for picking up online orders. It gives no reopening date.

That adds up to a shop worth watching but not one to plan a trip around yet. Call (408) 475-8704 to confirm it is open before you load the car. If it is, pair the stop with our downtown Los Altos guide, since State Street sits a block from Main Street.

Byrd's Plastic Free Market, San Mateo

Byrd's Plastic Free Market now works mainly online. Its web address still carries an older name, Byrd's Filling Station. The website describes the business as plastic free, zero waste, local and organic. Customers order online, get an email when the order is ready and collect it at scheduled open garage days in San Mateo. The site lists upcoming pickup days on Sunday, November 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday, December 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pickup details come with your order. Our San Mateo guide has more on the city.

How refill shopping works

Refill shops differ in the details, but a visit usually follows the same steps:

1. Bring clean, dry containers with lids that seal. Old soap and detergent bottles work well.
2. Have each empty container weighed first, so its weight comes off at checkout.
3. Fill it with the product you want and write the product name on a label.
4. Pay for the product by weight or volume.

Ask staff before you fill if you are unsure which products are concentrated. A small amount of a concentrated detergent goes further than the same weight of a ready-to-use one.

Palo Alto's bag rules

The city's bag rules page explains what shoppers should expect:

• Under the state rule that took effect January 1, 2026, grocery stores, stores with a pharmacy, convenience stores, food marts and liquor stores can no longer hand out plastic carryout bags.
• Palo Alto goes further and does not allow plastic carryout bags of any thickness at covered stores.
• Stores may offer recycled paper bags for at least 10 cents each, including for in-store pickup, curbside pickup and home delivery.
• Produce bags handed out before the register must be recycled paper or certified compostable plastic. Bringing your own is encouraged.
• Restaurants do not charge the paper bag fee.

The city also banned polystyrene foam food containers years ago. Bringing your own cup or container is the simplest way to skip disposables at a cafe or deli counter.

Low-waste habits in Palo Alto

• Shop the farmers markets. Most produce at the Saturday downtown and Sunday California Avenue markets is sold loose. Bring cloth bags and small produce bags from home. See our farmers markets guide.
• Buy secondhand. Thrift and consignment shops keep furniture, clothes and housewares in use. Our thrift stores guide lists them.
• Recycle the tricky things. Hassett Ace Hardware on Alma Street takes household light bulbs and thermostats. Leftover paint and batteries go to the city's household hazardous waste program.
• Borrow before you buy. Some Zero Waste Block Leaders host Zero Waste Party Packs that neighbors can borrow for gatherings.
• Look it up. The city's Zero Waste website has What Goes Where tools for sorting specific items.

A starter kit for refill shopping

You do not need to buy new containers to start. Wash and keep the next empty bottle of dish soap, shampoo or laundry detergent and take it with you. Label each one with tape and a marker. Pump bottles suit hand soap and body wash. Wide-mouth jars suit powders and dry goods. A small tote with three or four empties in the car means you are ready when you pass a refill shop. Visitors on a longer stay in a rental with a kitchen can use the same trick with the bottles the rental leaves behind.

What to refill first

Start with the products you use fastest, since they create the most empty bottles. For most households that means dish soap, hand soap, laundry detergent and shampoo. Refilling these once a month removes a steady stream of plastic from the blue cart. Once the habit sticks, add body wash, conditioner and household cleaners.

Price per ounce varies. Some refills cost about the same as a supermarket brand, while concentrated or specialty products cost more. Remember that you are not paying for a new bottle each time.

Dry goods and pantry items

None of the shops above is a full bulk grocery. For loose grains, nuts and dried fruit in Palo Alto, look for scoop bins and loose produce at the larger grocers. Bring your own cloth bags or jars. Ask at the register to have a jar weighed before you fill it.

Frequently asked questions