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Recycle less? We’ve finally got a hand on it! But what’s better than recycling? Having nothing to recycle in the first place of course. Zero waste shops are popping up all over the country, providing people with zero waste alternatives to your regular supermarket shop.
Many zero waste shops have stemmed from whole food shops, which provide local produce as well as organic vegan toiletries and household products made from sustainable packaging. Zero waste is becoming the next logical step for these business owners.
So how does it work? The idea is that people buy in bulk, saving on packaging and pennies, or better yet - take your own containers and buy as little or as much as they want, with zero packaging - overall, saving money and the planet. Customers take their own containers or purchase them from the shop, they weigh their container, fill it pasta, rice, nuts, tea, oil - you name it! You weigh and pay.
Something that discourages guests from shopping in this way is the inconvenience. You certainly need a little more time and planning as you often can’t buy meat and fish from these stores. But with a bit of dedication and commitment, it’s more than do-able and a small price to pay to reduce consumption and save the planet.
Hannah Allsop, HGEM’s Content Exec, a zero waste advocate comments. “It can feel a little overwhelming when you look at how much you waste, so small swaps are a great way to start. Switching from a plastic toothbrush to a bamboo one and using cotton pads instead of wet wipes (90% of which contain plastic!) are easy. The most popular way consumers are doing their bit right now seems to be investing in a reusable thermos or keep cup – cafe’s welcome you bringing your own cup and you can often save yourself some pennies, with many operators charging an extra 25p for a take away cup.
Another tip is to simply buy loose veg and drop it straight into your trolley, there really is no use for individual plastic bags – it all gets washed anyway! It can be easy to think that these small changes won’t make a difference, but they really do, think of how many plastic bags and take-away cups you get through in a year!”
Another concern for guests is the misconception around the price of these products, organic produce sold in independent shops is inherently known for having a hefty price tag. But these zero waste shops are dispelling this myth, with consumers realising that a lot of what they are paying for at the supermarket, is in fact packaging!
In fact, the average UK consumer produces 31kg of plastic waste per year. That’s 15.8 million tonnes per year. So, will you give zero waste a go?
