It has been a labour of love - interrupted by coronavirus and a tragic death - but now the door of this Radstock shop is open.

Hannah Bartholomew and Emily Denning first had plans to open up the waste-free shop in March. Then a family tragedy also set them back as they worked on transforming the long-established butchers, which is part of the Fromeway pub, into a waste-free, hyper local, community-orientated venture.

Fillerup not only looks gorgeous, but everything on the shelves is focused on making shopping as environmentally friendly as possible.

Radstock Nub News aims to be supportive to every element of the town's community from business and shops to people and charities and clubs and sports organisations.

We are happy to profile some of these local businesses and groups in this our feature UP CLOSE IN RADSTOCK in the hope that we can be a supportive springboard for their full return to business as usual.

This is our report on Fillerup - so firstly we were eager to see this shop open, why has it taken so long?

Hannah told us: " We were hoping to open up Fillerup in March but obviously the pandemic but obviously we had to put our plans on hold. But we were really determined to see our plans through. We really believe in the business and in the value it will bring to the local community. "

So what is it and what inspired these Radstock sisters?

Hannah told Nub News: " The key premise came from the fact that we personally were frustrated with the amount of plastic us as a family were consuming. You would have to be living under a rock not to appreciate the challenges we have with our planet.

" We wanted to make it possible for local people to make small steps to a more sustainable life, We are by no means perfect - we are all constantly learning and evolving - but if we can reduce the little bits of plastic in a weekly shop, then that's a great start.

We want to work with other local businesses

" We are also definitely up for wholesale business, not just retail. If it we can make it work. We have a fantastic range of cleaning and personal care products which might be suitable for local businesses - we would be really up for that."

The family has run a business on the site since 1850, with Emily and her sister the seventh generation of their family in Radstock. Their father, grandfather and great grandfather ran the butchers' shop.

Hannah said: " So we are breathing new life into the business and keeping it relevant for today. But we tragically lost our dad in July. It was all very sudden, so to be able to open where he worked for so many years and for us to serve the local community, makes us so proud."

So how can you Fillerup?

They encourage shoppers to bring their own containers from home to refill, making sure they are clean and sanitised. That can be a jar or a container and then you can choose to buy as much - or as little - as you want from the dry goods which include flours, dried fruits and seeds.

" We have all got that branded packet of nuts in our cupboard from 1996, Or that spice jar that you have had one spoonful out of. We want to reduce single use plastic and reduce food waste and this is how we are doing that. "

In terms of the personal care and household cleaning products Fillerup is working with brands that are independent circular businesses who work on a loop system.

Hannah explains: " That means that we buy them in bulk and then when we finish with the containers the companies come back and collect them and then return them filled, so we are not creating more plastic. " Furthermore all the products are biodegradable.

If customers forget to bring containers they can buy a jar on site and there will be paper bags.

Working with other locals

Emily adds that thanks to the pub next door (which will re-open at the end of October) they always have containers on hand which you can use.

The final thing that the sisters are passionate about is working with other small local businesses.

" We are really up for working with other local artisans and so we really want to celebrate that too."