This Zero-Waste Supermarket Is Sustainability Goals
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If staring at all of that extra food packaging in grocery stores makes you cringe, we have some good news for you. Former Manchester United soccer player Richard Eckersley just opened the first zero-waste supermarket in Great Britain, and there is absolutely no plastic in sight.
Earth.Food.Love is located in the town of Totnes right along the English channel, and the little market sells 200 organic and unpackaged products that create no negative impact on the environment whatsoever. A lot of the items are locally-sourced, too.
“We sell everything that’s dried, so you’ve got grains, beans, pulses, legumes, rice, seeds, flours, sugars, seaweed and spaghetti, yeast flakes and stock,” Eckersley told the Times in London. “We’ve got herbs and spices and dried fruit.” The market also sells a variety of syrups, cider, teas, chocolate and even zero-waste toiletries. Patrons can buy products in bulk by weight.
The best part, though, is that you have to bring your own bags, bottles, jugs and the like to claim the products you buy. The store does keep compostable paper bags on hand for first-time shoppers who wander in unprepared, but regulars are expected to bring their own reusable containers (especially for liquid goods) in order to truly reduce their impact on the environment.
The ultimate goal here is simple: “take back control of your food, getting the amount you need, not what large retailers force you to buy (and possibly waste).” So many of us have adapted to, and thus accepted, the processes of modern grocery shopping and food storage, but getting back to the basics, relying on reusable materials to keep foods fresh and only buying what we can actually consume are the shifts we need to be making as a society if we ever hope to reduce our reliance on landfill space.
According to the Times, Eckersley fell out of love with soccer at the peak of his career and, as a vegan, he took to finding news ways to help humans save our world instead. We must say, we are officially swooning as he and his family help our sustainability dreams come true.
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