Zero Waste Torfaen has secured an agreement with Propel Finance to supply its office in Newport with sustainably sourced and packaged food.

This is the first deal of its kind for Lauren Morse, the founder of Zero Waste Torfaen, as she will be providing a selection of snacks, cereal, coffee beans, cordial, and potatoes for Propel’s jacket potato oven.

Propel discovered Zero Waste Torfaen after seeing the company featured on a recent episode of BBC’s Panorama, and got in contact to secure the deal.

Zero Waste Torfaen is a business with a passion for sustainability and aims to reduce reliance on single-use plastics, changing the way people buy their food.

The journey to zero waste will be different for everyone and Zero Waste Torfaen was founded with the philosophy that, while everyone is at a different point in their sustainability journey, every individual and business has a part to play.

Starting out in 2019 as a local Facebook group for the community, sharing eco-tips and knowledge, Zero Waste Torfaen has grown into more than just a shop.

It offers reusable children’s party hire packs, only asking for small donations all of which go towards supplies for the local food bank which Zero Waste Torfaen works closely with.

Ms Morse has supplied her local food bank with various refillable household products, allowing families to refill their empty bottles once used.

Alongside this, Zero Waste Torfaen leads school visits with the mission to educate children on all eco-related topics. They have also worked closely with Coleg Gwent, Bron Afon, and Melin Homes to supply reusable period products to the local community.

The deal with Propel is the first of its kind for Ms Morse, though she has received subsequent enquiries to stock other offices since promoting the partnership on her social media.

Propel Finance has grown rapidly and recently invested in the renovation of its Newport headquarters. Part of this renovation included the decision to not only commit to a sustainable way of feeding the office but to also support a local business.

Julie Warren, marketing and partnerships director at Propel Finance, said: “We are so pleased to have partnered with Lauren at Zero Waste Torfaen. The snacks she provides to us aren’t just good quality and sustainable, but delicious too! Sustainability and supporting local businesses are two things that we consider very important here at Propel. We hope that this partnership will mark the next step in the further success of Zero Waste Torfaen.”

Lauren Morse said: “I'm so pleased to be working with Propel on such an exciting initiative. It gives me such hope to see that companies are moving towards taking a more sustainable approach to their general business activities. Since publicising the deal with Propel, other businesses have also got in contact to see what we can offer which is very exciting. We are looking forward to pushing the drive towards zero waste further.”