To purchase groceries packaging-free means you bring your own packaging from home and refill it in the shop. You don’t buy packaging every time you purchase the products; as a result, you generate a lot of packaging waste.
There are a couple of reasons, why packaging-free groceries might be for you:
- By using the packaging that you already own, you reduce the amount of single-use plastic packaging your household throws in the bin. This packaging can be thin plastic foil, which is not recyclable. It can be thick plastic for liquids (eg. shampoo, dishwashing liquid) which might be recyclable in your area. And it can be composite materials that can be hard to or not at all recyclable.
- Plastics that can be recycled, can only be recycled a couple of times, not endlessly like for example glass or metal.
- You can buy the amount of food that you really require. Single households need much smaller quantities than large families. When you buy packaging-free / in your own packaging you’re free to choose exactly what you need.
- You don’t collect half-used packages in your pantry. If you need only a little bit for a specific recipe, you can buy that exact quantity in your zero waste shop. Or if you want to try something out, you can buy a tiny amount to try and see if this is the right thing for you.
packaging -free grocery shopping in Haarlem’s zero waste shop
Note that there is a counter in the shop that shows how many pieces of plastic packaging were already saved from ever being produced by the customers of this shop.
Assortment: Things you can buy packaging-free at oodles and pinches. And that if more people purchase packaging-free groceries, the assortment can grow.
Glass, plastic, cotton...
Which containers are good for packaging-free grocery shopping?
Which packaging can you bring, a list and pictures. Wash the jar and why.
Now, how does it work?
At the shop… weigh each container with the lid on and write down the weight.
Fill your containers. The gravity bins. The scoop jars.
Herbs and spices
Liquids.