Upmarket grocer Waitrose has given customers the chance to buy food and drink completely free of packaging.  Waitrose shoppers at an Oxford store were offered refillable options for certain products as part of an 11-week trial starting in June 2019.  With prices typically 15% cheaper, customers were able to fill their own containers, or borrowed box (using a refundable £5 deposit), from a series of dispensers at a dedicated refill station. 

As well as fruit and vegetables, shoppers could buy wine and beer refills, and Ecover detergent and washing-up liquid.  Waitrose engaged Unpackaged, a London-based pioneer in the zero-waste retail business model, to operate the trial. 

In 2018, Greenpeace partnered with the Environmental Investigation Agency to survey supermarkets on the full extent of their contribution to our plastic waste problem, and find out what actions they are taking to deal with it.

Meanwhile, shoppers in Italy could soon be spending less on loose groceries thanks to proposed legislation to mandate discounts on food sold without packaging.  The Bill gives shopkeepers incentives to reduce the price of loosely sold food, and to sell household products such as detergents, shampoos and other liquids from dispensers or in reusable containers.

The Bill, if it becomes law, will also see public transport season tickets given to people who stop using their cars, mopeds or scooters, a multi-million-euro investment in electric and hybrid school buses, an urban reforestation programme and the delivery of an environmental campaign in schools.

The country recently revealed the Mediterranean ingests 500,000 tons of plastic waste annually, while lakes such as Como are becoming blighted by litter and a huge glacier on Mont Blanc is in danger of breaking away – all of which are bringing home to Italians the need to act to tackle pollution and emissions and lead more sustainable lifestyles.

further reading…

Upmarket grocer Waitrose has given customers the chance to buy food and drink completely free of packaging.  Waitrose shoppers at an Oxford store were offered refillable options for certain products as part of an 11-week trial starting in June 2019.  With prices typically 15% cheaper, customers were able to fill their own containers, or borrowed box (using a refundable £5 deposit), from a series of dispensers at a dedicated refill station. 

As well as fruit and vegetables, shoppers could buy wine and beer refills, and Ecover detergent and washing-up liquid.  Waitrose engaged Unpackaged, a London-based pioneer in the zero-waste retail business model, to operate the trial. 

In 2018, Greenpeace partnered with the Environmental Investigation Agency to survey supermarkets on the full extent of their contribution to our plastic waste problem, and find out what actions they are taking to deal with it.

Meanwhile, shoppers in Italy could soon be spending less on loose groceries thanks to proposed legislation to mandate discounts on food sold without packaging.  The Bill gives shopkeepers incentives to reduce the price of loosely sold food, and to sell household products such as detergents, shampoos and other liquids from dispensers or in reusable containers.

The Bill, if it becomes law, will also see public transport season tickets given to people who stop using their cars, mopeds or scooters, a multi-million-euro investment in electric and hybrid school buses, an urban reforestation programme and the delivery of an environmental campaign in schools.

The country recently revealed the Mediterranean ingests 500,000 tons of plastic waste annually, while lakes such as Como are becoming blighted by litter and a huge glacier on Mont Blanc is in danger of breaking away – all of which are bringing home to Italians the need to act to tackle pollution and emissions and lead more sustainable lifestyles.

further reading…