How to shop plastic-free in your local supermarket

It’s easier to find plastic-free options in your local supermarket than you think – here’s our guide to plastic-free grocery shopping in the UK

Not all of us have the time to visit specific waste-free stores, and supermarket giants don’t make shopping plastic-free easy. They pack bunches of grapes in plastic bags, wrap watermelons in cellophane and add extra packaging to bananas (despite their pre-existing natural skins…). However, there are some great foods you can get from even the biggest supermarkets that are completely plastic-free.

Fruit and vegetables

In most UK supermarkets there is plenty of loose fruit and veg available to pick up without any packaging. Morrison’s have recently introduced 100% recyclable paper bags to replace plastic ones to hold their loose produce, including fruit and veg. In general, 81% of their packaging is recyclable. In an innovative new initiative, Waitrose has recently trialled punnets for their Duchy tomatoes made from the leaves of the tomato plant.

Bread

It might seem obvious, but bringing your own canvas bags to the shops is a great replacement for the plastic bread bags available at most supermarket bakeries. Although some supermarkets such as Waitrose and Tesco have paper bags available, they often have transparent plastic panels.

Meat and fish

Meat fridges are common offenders. In them you’ll find meat and fish wrapped in the pesky plastic packaging we’re trying to avoid. However, Morrison’s is trying to encourage going packaging-free by rewarding customers with 100 loyalty points for using their own containers for deli meat and fish. Waitrose is also committed to getting rid of black plastic packaging for all their products, including meat and fish, by the end of 2019.

Cheese

We all love a good hunk of cheese. Instead of opting for a ready-packaged cheese from the shelf, head over to the cheese counter with your beeswax wrap or container in hand. It’s often cheaper to buy your cheese at the counter, and you may even find yourself trying different types of cheese instead of sticking to cheddar.

Snacks and treats

Some supermarkets, such as Lidl, offer a selection of nuts and seeds that you can walk out within your own packaging – after paying, of course. But if you fancy something a bit more indulgent, most UK supermarkets such as Tesco or Sainsbury’s have a bakery section where you can pick up a croissant completely packaging-free.