The world’s plastic problem can feel overwhelming, with startling statistics that reveal how hard it will be to reverse. By 2050, plastics in the ocean will outweigh fish, pound for pound. Only 8.7% of overall plastic was recycled in 2018.
Good Filling is on a mission to make tackling the plastic problem accessible for everyone. The Woburn-based company provides a refill service for personal care and home care products through bottle drop-off and pick-up locations, automated refill stations and delivery.
Founder Petros Palandjian grew up in Belmont, attended Duke University and returned to Boston to work for a private equity firm. After a few years, he found himself craving a more impactful role and an industry open to change. At the same time, he also started learning about the growing plastic waste problem.
“I was like, holy crap, we’re using a ton of plastic. I’m using a ton of plastic,” Palandjian said.
He made the easy switch of ditching a plastic water bottle for a reusable bottle. But he quickly realized that to move away from other plastics in his life, he’d need to make some lifestyle changes.
“It’s really hard to switch away from the Tide that’s down your street and at the local CVS, and it’s really hard to switch away from the Dial dish soap that you can order on Amazon,” he said.
Palandjian began visiting and learning about local refill shops in Brookline and Cambridge and researching the business models of similar companies around the country.
“I just couldn’t help but to think this area is so important. How do we progress it and make it as convenient as possible for people and bring as much access to that type of movement as possible,” Palandjian said.
Palandjian started Good Filling nearly two years ago by refilling bottles in the basement of his South End apartment. He bought five-gallon jugs of products like dish soap, laundry detergent, body lotions and cleaning spray.
The company’s first model was a bottle-exchange service. Palandjian said they partnered with 25 locations throughout greater Boston and set up lockers where people could drop off empty bottles and pick up bottles filled with their desired product. Each returned bottle was sanitized and reused.
In addition to making the locations accessible throughout the region, Palandjian also wanted to keep prices down. Good Filling sells products from recognizable brands like Seventh Generation, Tru Earth and Puracy. But Palandjian said he always marks prices down compared to what the suppliers sell it at. For example, a 32-pack of Tru Earth laundry detergent strips costs $19.95, but retails for $14.95 through Good Filling.
“I’m not paying for a plastic bottle every time. I’m not paying for a brand-new label every time. I’m not paying for shelf space within CVS,” Palandjian said. “So, I’m ultimately saving a lot relative to these brands.”
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About four months ago, Good Filling began pivoting away from bottle exchanges to automatic refill machines. Palandjian bought several machines from an engineering company and installed them in apartment buildings. The locations include The Bower and The Kensington in Boston; Twenty 20 in Cambridge; and 7 Seventy House in Hoboken, New Jersey. The company will soon be bringing machines to Watertown Mews in Watertown and One Greenway in Boston.
“People walk down to their lobby and the same way they get a cup of coffee in the morning, they’re able to fill up their hand soap or their dish soap,” Palandjian said.
True to its accessibility mission, Good Filling is also reaching out to publicly accessible locations like the Copley Mall, North Shore Mall and South Shore Mall to bring in its machines.
After finding success in the Greater Boston area, Palandjian said he hopes to replicate this model in places like New York, New Jersey and Chicago. Good Filling is in the middle of fundraising to fuel this growth.
