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Bring your own containers, says UK Supermarket

Source: Waitrose&Partners

UK supermarket chain Waitrose launches packaging-free trial at their Oxford store, offering refillable options for items such as alcohol, pasta, grains and liquid cleaning materials.

Waitrose & Partners unpacks a unique plan for future of shopping

Waitrose has unveiled its vision of environmentally conscious shopping, offering customers the opportunity to buy food and drink that is 100% free of packaging as part of a ground-breaking trial for a national retailer. A dedicated ‘Refillable Zone’, the UK’s first supermarket frozen ‘Pick & Mix’ and first ‘Borrow-a-box’ scheme are among a series of ideas being trialled in a unique test from Waitrose & Partners, which has the potential to save thousands of tonnes of unnecessary plastic and packaging.

Waitrose Unpacked: Supermarket launches packaging-free trial The trial is designed to help determine how customers might be prepared to shop differently in the future. The retailer has transformed its Botley Road shop in Oxford and taken hundreds of products out of their packaging. Source: Facebook/BrightVibes

Waitrose Unpacked: Produce in Waitrose’s unpacked refill stations will be up to 15% cheaper

UK national supermarket chain Waitrose, in their Botley Road store in Oxford, are running an exciting new trial which aims to work with customers to reduce packaging waste. The trial runs until 18 August 2019 and is designed to help work out how customers might be prepared to shop differently in the future by reusing and recycling. 

The store has unpacked 160 varieties of fruit and veg, removed plastic from their flowers and introduced 48 products across the store to refill—from pasta and grains to frozen fruit, coffee, beer and wine, plus cleaning products including washing-up liquid and liquid detergent. Customers can also bring their own containers to the food counters.

The test, which will be branded strongly with ‘Waitrose Unpacked’ across the shop to maximise awareness, will run for a period of 11 weeks as the supermarket seeks as much feedback as possible. A feedback survey will also be available on its website page, Waitrose.com/Unpackedand #WaitroseUnpacked will feature on Twitter and Instagram.

Packaged equivalents of the products will remain in their usual areas to create an effective test. For example, given the choice between buying packaged or unpackaged fruit and vegetables, which one do customers go for.

Head of CSR for Waitrose & Partners, Tor Harris, said in a press release:

“We are determined to build on the work we’ve already done to reduce packaging – and this test will take our efforts to a whole new level as we help the growing number of customers who want to shop in a more sustainable way.

“This test has huge potential to shape how people might shop with us in the future so it will be fascinating to see which concepts our customers have an appetite for. We know we’re not perfect and have more to do, but we believe this is an innovative way to achieve something different.”

Source: Waitrose&Partners

In what Waitrose describes as a first in the UK, customers will be able to
The supermarket chain says it will be the first to offer “pick and mix” frozen fruit In what Waitrose describes as a first in the UK, customers will be able to “borrow a box’ to take their produce home for a £5 deposit which is refundable when the box is returned. Wine and beer refills will also be offered, as will Ecover detergent and washing up liquid. Source: Waitrose&Partners

What customers can expect to see from the scheme

The ‘Waitrose Unpacked’ concepts include:

  • Produce unpacked– 160 loose fruit and vegetable products will be available at the store – the most loose fruit and vegetable lines offered by any national supermarket.
  • Frozen pick and mix– Frozen mango, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, pineapple and raspberries are packaging free and will be available as pick and mix.
  • Plastic removed from flowers and plants– Plastic wrap has been removed from all flowers and indoor plants and replaced with 100% recyclable and 100% PEFC certified craft paper.  
  • Detergent and washing up liquid refillables– Waitrose & Partners is the first supermarket to partner with Ecover and provide an automatic detergent and washing up liquid dispenser where customers will be able to refill their reusable Ecover containers.
  • Wine and beer refillables– Four different wines and four different beers available on tap to take home in reusable bottles to cut down on the use of glass bottles.
  • Coffee refills– Customers can grind one of four coffees in store to take home in a reusable container to reduce glass and plastic packaging.   
  • Essential refillables– 28 products including pasta, rice, grains, couscous, lentils, cereals, dried fruit and seeds have been taken out of packaging and will be available through dispensers
  • Borrow-a-box scheme– In a UK first, shoppers can borrow-a-box from store to shop with and then take home before returning on their next visit.  

Other ways in which Waitrose & Partners are taking steps to eliminate unnecessary plastic and packaging include:

  1. All Waitrose & Partners own-brand packaging will either be widely-recycled, reusable or home compostable by 2023.
  2. The supermarket will remove black plastic from all its own-brand products by the end of 2019. It has already removed hard-to-recycle black plastic on its fresh meat, fish, poultry, fruit and veg.
  3. Waitrose & Partners recently launching the world’s first home compostable ready meal packaging removing nearly nine million products out of black plastic.
  4. Single-use plastic bags for loose fruit and veg bags were replaced with a home compostable alternative in May 2019 and in March this year it removed all 5p single-use carrier bags.
  5. By Christmas 2020, its own label cards, wraps, crackers, tags, flowers and plants will either be glitter-free or the retailer will use an environmentally friendly alternative.

Consumers will be encouraged to use their own containers apart from for beer and wine and Ecover products. Waitrose said the frozen pick and mix fruit - such as mango, strawberries and cherries - at 50p per 100g would be cheaper per 100g than the packaged equivalent.
Produce in Waitrose’s unpacked refill stations will be up to 15% cheaper Consumers will be encouraged to use their own containers apart from for beer and wine and Ecover products. Waitrose said the frozen pick and mix fruit – such as mango, strawberries and cherries – at 50p per 100g would be cheaper per 100g than the packaged equivalent. Source: Twitter/#WaitroseUnpacked
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