Zero waste shop

[JHMusic]

Hi! A quick couple of questions to throw out there to anyone in ED/ Peckham who is interested in this sort of thing- would a zero waste/ no packaging/ refill/ bulk buy shop be of interest and what foodstuffs and drinks would people like to see sold there? I'm thinking along the lines of oils, grains, lentils,rice, nuts, salt, coffee, popcorn etc. Anything where you can bring your own bags and containers and load up as much or as little.

[Sue]

I would be interested in this, however I'm not sure how feasible it would be.

You would presumably need premises to store the stock, and people to run the thing.

Would it be some sort of co-operative, or would it be making a profit for somebody?

Is there legislation around food storage?

I'm sure there are similar schemes elsewhere, so wheels wouldn't need to be invented.

I'd be interested for things like oats, oils, rice, lentils, seeds,however I would not be buying anything in huge quantities.

I wonder in these busy days how many people would make the time to use a scheme like this on top of their other shopping.

There is already a local group which buys in bulk from a wholefood company.

[beansprout]

There is a group that has just set up in Herne Hill

[japseylarue]

I'd be very interested in a shop selling goods like this. There used to be several years ago.

[kford]

Try Naked Larder in Herne Hill

[isnottropical]

Definitely would be interested in this

[budleigh]

I would be very interested. There is one in Clapham, Hetu, which seems to work well = I would love one close by.

[almost peckham]

Self and Mrs AP would use it.

[lavender27]

I'd love to go to the cinema with you, I'll buy my own popcorn. See you at 11.

[ken78]

they had a shop like this in peckham years ago i think it was called weigh and save big tubs of nuts, rice,breakfast cereals. and a lot more.did not last long

[micromacromonkey]

I think this would be a good idea. Especially if you could refill thing like hand soap, kitchen spray etc etc.

[B&G]

We would definitely use it, particularly for oats, rice, pulses, seeds etc.

[B&G]

Would also like to see a decent selection of cosmetics and cleaning products. There are two places on LL that do refills of cleaners (but each place only does about 3 items), but I'd love to see someone offering refills of hand soap, shampoo, shower gel, laundry detergent.

[Penguin68]

When I was young most shops sold groceries loose, rice, sugar, dried pulses, raisins and currants etc. all spooned out of sacks, weighed and put into blue paper bags. Two things. The bags were of course unmarked, so what was in which was always a bit of a lottery, and you needed to check for dirt and mouse droppings. We then welcomed pre-packed, clean, dry goods when they came - and for that matter supermarkets where you didn't have to queue behind each counter to get served.

There is, of course, way too much packaging now, but in addressing that, do be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. 'Modern' ways of doings things came in for a reason.

[dbboy]

A very simple solution exists, rather than manufacturers and supermarkets packaging all most everything in plastic/plastic wrap, they should wrap using paper based materials. The paper materials could then simply go into the recycling waste bins. It would make a huge difference.

If you go to a bakers they put the bread into a paper bag, likewise the green grocers put the veg into brown paper bags, the butchers put goods into plastic/paper so it is possible to wrap using paper rather than plastic.

At one time Lidl sold reusable paper carrier bags but since the 5p charge everything is plastic. BTW the quality of the 5p plastic bags seems to vary considerably.

It is possible but society has become to reliant on living a convenience lifestyle which resulted in so much plastic being used combined probably with the cheapness of plastic wrap in comparison to paper based materials.

[hazelnunhead]

I would be very interested in this. At the start of the year I have been trying to avoid buying products using single use plastic. This has proved much trickier than I thought although I have made some substantial changes to how we shop and what we use.

Unfortunately I have not been able to source pasta, rice, grains etc not wrapped in plastic.

[Calsug]

It sounds like a great idea in theory but in practice it is a lot harder - When you say Zero waste, are you including the delivery of the produce to the store? Believe one shop has achieved no plastic and the produce is very expensive as a result - the supply chain really is not geared up to accommodate this kind of transportation. Basically you will buy a 50 kg PP bag of say oats wholesale and pour it into a shiny looking bin, then what do you do with the PP bag?

There is margin to be made for sure as you are basically becoming a repacker without the need to repack, but your goods are low value so you would have to sell a lot of oats!

[zerkalo]

It?s good to see that there is an interest in adopting more environmentally friendly ways of consumption ? I?d also be interested in more local options being available. Though cutting down on plastic is probably harder than one might think - as this article clearly demonstrates: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/24/nappies-takeaways-bubble-wrap-could-remove-plastic-polluting)

Like one of those interviewed, I am also being encouraged by my partner to turn up to William Rose with my own (plastic, but reusable!) containers to avoid the single-use plastic bags they use.

The Store Cupboard at the Crystal Palace food market sell loose teas, spices, oats etc. The Wild Country Organics grocery stall there had a lengthy note explaining why they are using plastic to package their produce. According to a trial they had, customers prefer to buy foods wrapped in plastic than loose products. There were also other reasons as to why they are using plastic that had to do with keeping food fresh for longer.

[Angelina]

I'd want to make sure it was hygienic - I have visions of people putting their hands in

[NewWave]

Angelina Wrote:

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> I'd want to make sure it was hygienic - I have

> visions of people putting their hands in

And mice! there was a shop like this when I was a child in Notting hill, and mice were often to be seen scampering around.

My mum stopped buying from there when she found mouse poo in the rye flour

[hpsaucey]

There?s one off Walworth Road too

[ianr]

> Try Naked Larder in Herne Hill

https://www.nakedlarder.co.uk/

> There?s one off Walworth Road too

https://fareshares.org.uk/

[Sue]

ianr Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> > Try Naked Larder in Herne Hill

> https://www.nakedlarder.co.uk/

>

> > There?s one off Walworth Road too

> https://fareshares.org.uk/

Thanks ianr

Crikey, fareshares has been going since 1998!

They seem to have different models. There's a ten pound minimum "fee" for each order from nakedlarder, but I'm not sure quite how fareshares works. It seems to be by volunteers, and donations towards the running costs.

It would be great to have something like this a bit nearer.

[katanita]

Definitely interested. This is a pretty well established business model now here in London (Hetu, Bulk Market in Dalston, Naked Larder etc) and elsewhere in the world, and given increasing interest in reducing waste I think it is the right time. I'm really keen for a place like this locally. Whether or not it can be truly "zero" waste or not would be much less of a concern than making significant progress in that direction. Would also be good if it could sell sustainable versions of single use beauty and healthcare products such as cotton pads etc.

Is this a serious speculation? ie, are you genuinely considering opening something?

[JHMusic]

Hi, yes, I was thinking of opening a shop like this and yes, for profit, yes, 100% "zero waste" is perhaps a little optimistic and no, there wouldn't be any old school sacks of grains with grubby fingers and mice rummaging around! Great to hear the different points of view and interest, thank you.