Locavore, an innovative new plastic-free supermarket in Glasgow’s Southside has opened its doors.
Customers can buy items including milk in refillable glass bottles, without picking up single-use packaging.
The wide range of ‘fill your own’ plastic-free shopping is now available in the brand, new store in Victoria Road, due to £100,000 funding from Zero Waste Scotland, supported by the Scottish Government and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Warren McIntyre, Programme Manager, Resource Efficiency, Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Shoppers are increasingly concerned about single-use packaging which is often not, or can’t be, recycled. While packaging has a role to play in ensuring food and other products reach consumers in good condition, businesses such as Locavore show that it can be reduced and that’s extremely popular with shoppers.
The store also includes pulses, nuts, grains, oil and vinegar and household cleaning products.
The range is already attracting three times as many customers in the first few weeks of trading as store managers expected.
Reuben Chesters, Managing Director, Locavore Community Interest company said: “Customers love these options, as they’re able to come in and pick up a variety of products and foods without bringing home a pile of useless packaging that would simply have to be binned, or possibly recycled. We see Locavore going from strength-to-strength based on customer demand for packaging-free options, and I think other businesses should look at how they can follow suit.”
Zero Waste Scotland is seeking ideas from businesses to reduce single-use packaging, with available funding in the region of £1million.