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A SUPERMARKET IN AMSTERDAM HAS A DEDICATED AISLE OF ALMOST 700 PLASTIC- FREE, ORGANIC PRODUCTS. WILL UK SHOPS FOLLOW SUIT?
When we can buy gluten-free, fat-free and dairy-free, why is it so difficult to buy plasticfree? This question helped spark Europe’s first plastic-free supermarket aisle, which opened earlier this year at an Amsterdam branch of organic supermarket chain Ekoplaza.
One of those behind the project was Sian Sutherland from UK environmental campaign group A Plastic Planet. She believes that shoppers are increasingly seeing through the ‘lie’ that we cannot do without plastic packaging. “Scalable, viable and totally convenient… this is a showcase to the world,” she says.
The testbed aisle – which includes meat, rice, dairy, cereals, yogurt, snacks, fruit and vegetables – will be rolled out in all of Ekoplaza’s 74 branches in the Netherlands by the end of 2018. Products are instead contained in compostable biomaterials made from plants and trees.
When the project was conceived two years ago, “no one talked about the plastics problem”, notes Sutherland. But the topic is fast becoming a priority. The number one issue for British shoppers in the next decade will be to reduce packaging and use more recyclable materials, according to research by ThoughtWorks.
Sutherland is now pushing for UK supermarkets to create similar aisles. “People are ready for change. So, our campaign is simple – just give us a plastic-free aisle. We just don’t want to be part of the problem any more. We want choice,” says Sutherland.