Amsterdam: the first plastic-free supermarket has opened
Amsterdam: the first plastic-free supermarket has opened

Video: Amsterdam: the first plastic-free supermarket has opened

Video: Amsterdam: the first plastic-free supermarket has opened
Video: World’s first plastic-free supermarket opened in Amsterdam 2024, March
Anonim

We can do without plastic in supermarkets, and this is great news.

It happens in Amsterdam, where the chain specialized in organic products Ekoplaza has inaugurated the first department in the world without plastic, replacing the packaging of products with various biodegradable materials and other recyclable materials such as metal, cardboard and glass.

For the moment, this is an experiment that started with the chain's first store, but the supermarket says it intends to introduce similar sections in all its 74 stores by the end of 2018.

Do not think of small bulk food retailers, with cereal dispensers fixed to the walls: the novelty lies precisely in the size of the offer, which with about 700 products without plastic packaging becomes a credible alternative to traditional supermarkets.

Meat, rice, fruit and vegetables, sauces and dairy products of all kinds; everything is in glass, metal or paper, and some biomaterials are the result of pure experimentation, put to the test for the first time, as the CEO of Ekoplaza underlined.

As you can easily imagine, this is not an initiative for an end in itself, the provocation serves to set a good example, to provoke reactions and, possibly, to lead the way for other chains.

According to data released by the EU, Europeans generate 25 million tons of plastic waste every year, but not even 30% is collected for recycling. In the world, plastics represent 85% of the waste on beaches.

Sian Sutherland, founder of "A plastic planet", the environmental group that collaborated with Ekoplaza on the project, was categorical:

“For decades they have been selling consumers the lie that we can't live without plastic in food and drink. A plastic-free department erases this false belief. We can finally see a future where the public can choose whether to buy plastic or not. At present we have no choice”.

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