Waste not, want not
Sick of spending half a day doing an environmentally friendly grocery shop, Jessica Roden decided to fix that. Kelly Dennett reports.
IT started with giving up plastic bags.
About three years ago, before they were banned, The Naked Pantry founder Jessica Roden made a New Year’s resolution to give up the plastic after becoming aware of how much packaging was infiltrating her grocery shop.
‘‘I was horrified because most of it was unnecessary,’’ she says. ‘‘You don’t need a plastic bag for mandarins, they have a natural skin on them, they’re going to be fine. You don’t need individual plastic packets of stuff. It was a snowball effect.’’
Her pre-occupation with a zero-waste, or near zero-waste lifestyle, culminated in Roden and partner Sean Neal launching The Naked Pantry business midpandemic. Based in Wellington, where Roden works as a political producer for TVNZ, they deliver package-free produce and dry goods, and now meat and cleaning products, to households.
The genesis came as Roden became disheartened, traipsing around stores at the weekend, in order to be be package-free.
‘‘I was fortunate because I have a good job and disposable income, no dependents, and time on the weekends to do that, but even then I was finding it hard,’’ she says.‘‘(But) it was a whole half day to do a grocery shop. I started thinking more and more, what can be done about this?’’
Inspired by New York business The Wally Shop, where shoppers can order package-free groceries, Roden became hooked on the idea of doing something similar in New Zealand. What if, instead of being wrapped in plastic or cardboard, produce and dried goods came in jars or cotton bags? Having never had a longing to launch a business, and already working a busy job, in an election year no less, Roden tried to talk herself out of it.
But ‘‘it was hard to let it go,’’ she says. ‘‘There’s always going to be a reason . . . to talk yourself
● Buy fewer perishable foods We buy far more fruit and veggies than we need. It creates an incredible amount of food waste. But if you find dried chickpeas without any packaging what’s the harm in getting extra?
● Plan your meals
It’s the simplest way to reduce your food waste and cut your grocery bill.
● The freezer is your friend Once every couple of weeks I’ll stock up on meat from the butcher.
● Make extra
I cannot emphasise this enough. One of the easiest
out of it, and I just had to push through that. (But) a few people were like, ‘but how are you going to do this?’ It’s quite a logistical nightmare.’’
The couple pursued a twoweek test run, which ended just as the country entered level 3 for the first time in March, just days before level 4 lockdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic. They persevered to officially launch ways to reduce waste is to cook for yourself and make extra for lunch the next day.
● Take an empty container everywhere
It will never not be handy.
● Get rid of disposable makeup wipes
There’s plenty of other options. Did you know coconut oil and a flannel will do the trick?
● Drink loose-leaf tea
How many tea bags must we go through as a country? Switch to loose-leaf with a strainer and you’ll never go back.
● It’s OK to refuse things
I like to watch my drinks being made at a bar so I can say ‘‘oh
five weeks later, during the second level 3, in April.
More households were seeking delivery services as supermarkets were overwhelmed, but Roden wondered if launching during an economic crisis was the best idea.
‘‘We just had to do it and give it a go. I would have kicked myself if someone else had thought of it and done it.’’ sorry, no straw’’. You feel a bit rude the first couple of times you do it but if you are polite people don’t mind.
● Join a library
Now I know, books aren’t waste. I love books and I love reading. But I often only read it once. Not exactly a great use of that resource. So unless I think I’ll read it a few times, lend it to friends, I don’t tend to buy it.
● Start small
Don’t try to go entirely zero waste in a week. Make a couple of goals for Plastic Free July and keep with it until they stick. Then create a few more. You’ll be on your way in no time.
Roden and Neal hand-picked suppliers who were committed to low waste or environmentally friendly ideals, negotiating awkward conversations with some who wanted to put sticky labels on produce to ensure they were being advertised – Roden stuck to her ideals.
Over the weekend the pair handle deliveries from the various producers, then sort and
pack them into sterilised jars or cotton bags, in an industrial kitchen. Customers pay a deposit ranging from a few cents to a few dollars for the jars, bags or boxes, which they can return for their deposit back, or keep. Roden is heartened that most choose to return the jars. (‘‘I’m sorry, but you just don’t need 100 jars sitting at your house.’’)
Roden and Neal deliver the groceries by electric car on Saturday afternoons. The business is very close to zero waste, a few cardboard boxes need recycling, and the business has grown rapidly despite the spectre of Covid-19, which saw Neal and Roden introduce PPE into their practices. While The Naked Pantry is breaking even, Roden is happy to see the business grow at its own pace.
They’re delivering to around 30 households. About half their customers like the convenience of not having to go to different suppliers and enjoy the bonus of not having to fill a bin after a grocery shop, while the remainder were already practising low waste.
It’s the former group that Roden is most excited about – a new group of people she can show that being low waste doesn’t have to be difficult.
‘‘We use the term zero waste a lot but it’s actually quite hard to achieve zero waste and frankly, for most people, it’s not going to be achievable just because of the way we live our lives,’’ Roden says. ‘‘But it’s a really cool goal to start working towards. I’m not yet zero waste, but each day you get closer and closer.’’