Vancouver Magazine

Waste Not, Want Not

The grocery store tackling trash talk.

- —Tessa Vikander

is on a plastic-busting mission. Tired of seeing how global plastic waste was aecting animal habitats, the former marine biology researcher decided to stop plastics at the source: the grocery store. She’s now the founder and CEO of Nada, afullƒedged zero-waste grocery store, which opened in early January.

Located at Broadway and Fraser Street, the store sells everything from baked goods and fresh produce to toiletries and pet food, all without the usual one-time-use packaging. Customers bring their containers or, as is the case for the Avalon milk, pay a deposit for the glass bottle. The centre aisles are Œlled with organic bulk grains, ƒours, coee, tea and oils. But that convenient roll of plastic bags— and frozen pizzas—are distinctly absent.

“Almost all of our items are single-ingredient items, so we have very few processed foods,” says Miller. But a few multiingre­dient items have sneaked their way in. Among them are ice cream and candy, as well as package-free Denman Island chocolate, selling at almost half its usual retail price. It’s a big ask for Vancouveri­tes to change their shopping habits, but eliminatin­g packaging waste might just be the key to our Greenest City goal.

 ??  ?? Nada founder Brianne Miller (centre) in store.
Nada founder Brianne Miller (centre) in store.

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