We’ve been frequently reminded to reduce, reuse, and recycle to be more eco-friendly and lessen waste. But, the concept of zero waste has been growing and builds further, aiming to send no waste to the landfill. Zero waste additionally includes two more R’s: refuse and rot. Refuse using unnecessary products & material, and use products that rot (are biodegradable). Zero waste grocery stores embody these ideas.

So, what is a zero waste grocery store? Zero waste grocery stores refuse to use all forms of unnecessary waste, which includes but is not limited to individual wrappers, plastic bags, and cardboard encasings. All products are package free. Customers can bring in their own reusable containers to purchase items, like food and soaps.

Along with avoiding unnecessary packaging waste, zero waste stores also reduce food waste. In the zero waste store, customers can buy as much or as little of the food that they need - like a single cinnamon stick. It eliminates the waste of an entire conventional store container of unneeded cinnamon sticks. The loose products also cost about 40% less than the same product in a conventional grocery store.

This limit of food waste definitely has a need for implementation in the US. Every year, Americans waste around 60 million metric tons of food a year; 32 million metric tons of that ends up in the landfills, where it emits tons of methane into the atmosphere.

Zero waste grocery stores are a fairly new concept with fewer stores in existence in the US, but it’s been able to become a reality in multiple parts of the world as “Original Unverpackt”' zero waste grocery store  in Germany, and Day by Day zero waste grocery store in France. Spreading zero waste grocery stores and advocating for implementation into our society can definitely help us on our way to zero waste!

References used:

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/america-needs-a-zero-waste-grocery-store/

https://www.greenmatters.com/p/are-zero-waste-stores-profitable