Green Road Refill

It can be easy being green! If you have seen the green Bettie Bus, that would be Jess Georges, founder of Green Road Refill, on her way to farmers’ markets, libraries and fairs to make earth-conscious living convenient for Cape Codders. Folks queue up with their empty bottles—or purchase her rainbow-hued reusable ones—to refill from more than 40 plant-based eco-friendly liquids like shampoo, soap, lotion and household cleaning products. She carefully weighs the container before filling and reweighs the filled vessel so that the per-ounce price only reflects the contents.

This brilliant idea came to Georges in 2018 when, having paid off her school loans, she felt ready to do something meaningful, and literally “had a dream about a store where people felt good about shopping.” Working with WECAN, SCORE and Cape Cod Development Partnership to put a business plan together, she was ready when EforAll launched an entrepreneurship program on Cape Cod in July 2018. Her pitch won third place in the inaugural program.

Bettie Bus, her earth-friendly store on wheels, is dedicated to her “bright and spunky” grandmother who taught her how to drive and passed on a couple of months before Georges launched the business. Georges, who received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in music and theater, first came to Cape Cod in 2003 to perform at Brewster’s Cape Rep Theater. She met her husband Justin Georges while they worked together at an Orleans restaurant that summer. She credits him and his “love of all things under the hood” as the mechanic and carpenter who brought her vision of retrofitted Bettie Bus as a store to fruition.

Georges has also partnered with local businesses for trade-in toxin events and recently traveled to Nantucket, Bettie’s first boat trip, to partner with Sustainable Nantucket, where she filled over 100 bottles for islanders. Bettie Bus is also packing everything from stainless steel straws to bamboo toothbrushes, kitchen gadgets, alternatives to plastic wrap and eco-conscious cleaning supplies such as mops, brooms and sponges. Georges is particularly concerned about ocean ecology and the overuse of plastics. The empty bottles that she sells are glass or aluminum and she carries many plastic alternatives.

At nearly 17 years old, Bettie does come off the road for about half the year so that she can get some “work done”. What might Georges plan for the future? Maybe a brick and mortar, but for sure, “Bettie wants a little sister,” Georges laughs.

For a schedule of where and when Bettie can be found, click on “Where’s Bettie Bus” on the website.

774-216-1409 / greenroadrefill.com