Dive Brief:
- The UK chain Planet Organic is installing self-serve bulk-food dispensers that consumers can use with their refillable containers, according to a Mental Floss article. The grocer is partnering with sustainable packaging company Unpackaged to offer this new service.
- To use their Tupperware, consumers weigh the empty container and attach a label with its tare weight. They can then fill it with any other bulk item before weighing it again to print the price tag for their goods.
- Planet Organic is offering cereals, legumes, grains, nuts, chocolate, dried fruit, and even some cleaning products in bulk as part of this program.
Dive Insight:
If consumers bring their bags to the grocery store, is toting along some Tupperware to stock up on nuts and dried fruit really so far a reach?
This seems to be the natural next step following the popular BYO tote bag movement. If grocery store plastic bags are the scourge of society, why would the smaller ones used to get granola from the bulk bins be any better for the environment?
Grocery stores that encourage consumers to reduce waste are popular in Europe, with stores like Unverpackt in Berlin, which doesn't offer bags or containers. The concept is even catching on stateside, with the Fillery in Brooklyn, NY and the no-packaging grocery store in.gredients in Austin, Texas.
It's not just independently owned stores that are offering this service. East Coast chain, MOM's Organic Markets, already encourages shoppers to bring their bottles and tubs to cut down on waste.
As encouraging as these store policies are for the environmentally enthusiastic, the concept hasn't hit its stride with conventional grocers. It may just be a matter of time, though. The idea of bringing a reusable bag to the market was adopted early on with the natural and organic crowd, but now is widely accepted.
Some shoppers in California, Chicago and New York City bring their bags to the market to avoid plastic bag fees. Some grocers report that the use of reusable bags is on the rise, but there are no firm numbers available to indicate just how many shoppers consistently remember to bring them to the grocery store.
One potential problem for the BYO Tupperware cause has already been well documented for grocery tote bags: their penchant for being breeding grounds for bacteria. On the upside, it's more likely consumers will toss a plastic tub or glass jar into the dishwasher than remember to use an antibacterial wipe on the inside of a reusable bag.
The greatest challenge to widespread adoption of this waste-reducing idea is also shared by its reusable bag predecessor, and that is to get consumers to remember to bring containers to the store.