In Order To Reduce The Use Of Single-Use Plastic, ASDA Launches Its First ‘Sustainability Store’ Where You Can Shop Plastic-Free
While it’s not perfect, the world has made some significant steps towards making the planet a cleaner and healthier place. Not only has people’s frame of mind become, for the most part, more eco-friendly, but a number of companies have also taken initiative by offering products and solutions that have a reduced, if not non-existent, negative effect on the planet.
One of the most recent developments here is ASDA’s new sustainability store, a supermarket that offers a greener approach to shopping for groceries and a number of other items.
ASDA is making a huge leap forward in reducing the excessive use of plastic around the globe
Image credits: ASDA
ASDA, a British grocery and general merchandise supermarket retailer, has recently announced that it’s opened what it calls a sustainability store. It is a part of ASDA’s new plastics reduction strategy that will empower its store patrons to reduce, reuse, and recycle in hopes of reducing the negative footprint left by the excessive use of plastics.
On its website, ASDA detailed all of the eco-friendly facilities that it has placed in its sustainability store. These include 15 refill stations offering over 30 household goods sold in refillable format.
These include cereal, oats, tea and coffee, rice, pasta, and a number of other products. There are also refill zones for shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent, hand soap, and shower gel.
It has opened a Sustainable Store, a grocery shop that actively encourages reuse and recycling
Image credits: ASDA
Over 50 fresh produce lines will now be sold loose and completely unwrapped and things like plants and flowers will also be sold without plastic wrapping. It even made sure the outer plastic wrapping on several popular canned beans, soups, and other product multipacks will also be removed.
The store will also include recycling facilities for items that are difficult to recycle in curbside collections—for things like plastic crisp and biscuit packets, plastic toys, cosmetics containers, and toothpaste tubes.
Besides this, ASDA will also offer reverse vending machines for used cans, plastic and glass drinks bottles, and a hanger-recycling facility.
It’s equipped with 15 refill stations for various food as well hygiene products
Image credits: ASDA
None of its fresh produce is packaged either, and even multipacks are void of plastics
Image credits: ASDA
To top it all off, ASDA has partnered up with a number of clothing companies and organizations to offer sustainable fashion lines that make recycled clothing. Among these partners is the Salvation Army, with whom ASDA will collaborate to offer a Dop and Shot outlet service where people will be able to donate unwanted clothing and bric-à-brac.
Now, this project is the first of its kind for ASDA, so it’s natural that it’s located in Middleton, Leeds—the city where ASDA is also headquartered. It has been launched as a trial store to see how well it goes with plans to open more sustainability stores in 2021.
“This is an issue that matters greatly to our customers—our own insight tells us that more than 80% believe that supermarkets have a responsibility to reduce the amount of single-use plastics in stores,” said Roger Burnley, ASDA’s CEO and President.
He continued: “We want to give them the opportunity to live more sustainably by offering them great product choices and value, underpinned by a promise that they won’t pay more for greener options at ASDA.”
So far, there is only one such store—in Middleton, Leeds—but there are plans to open more in 2021
Image credits: ASDA
ASDA is committed to generating zero carbon emissions by 2040 and reducing waste by 50% as well as having a net regenerative impact on nature by 2050. It has also promised to introduce over 40 new refillable products by 2023 and invest in 50 closed-loop/circular projects by 2030.
Now, this isn’t a novel idea as a number of brands and stores—mostly clothing and smaller retailers—have already assumed an active eco-friendly position in such regard. However, it is certainly a huge leap forward ecology-wise when a giant supermarket chain joins the cause and promises to foster the idea further.
ASDA ir partnering up with a number of companies and organizations to make this happen
Image credits: ASDA
What are your thoughts on this? What are some of the habits and ways you help the planet? Let us know in the comment section below!
Here’s what the internet had to say about this move by ASDA
I am sorry to spoil the fun, but I think we wait yet to see a wasteless concept that is sustainable. Experimental stores so far have had ridiculous prices, partly due to the manual labour involved. Moreover, much of the packaging comes from the steps before selling the product to the end-customer. If slightly larger consumer boxes are merely emptied into the dispenser, not much is won. I am not implying that I do not think wasteless stores are a bad concept, I am just skeptical whether they are viable in their current form.
Erm...one negation too many here: "I am not implying that I think wasteless stores are a bad concept"
Load More Replies...Nothing new about this, 100 years ago most items in stores were sold in bulk and often you brought your own container or took the item home wrapped in wax paper or in a paper bag.
The problem with these dispensers are-- *Unsanitary *Food spoils faster *New food is mixed with old food *Unpopular food that spoils is never removed *Spoiled food waste is 50 times worse than conventional means *Dispensers are not tamper resistant *Stores do not dates the product they put in them *Prices are always over-exaggerated
It is standard procedure in Central Africa. I just hope this won't just reach the hip upperclass.
an awful lot of stores have been doing this in Italy (where I live) for approximately 20 years...
Here's what we haven't seen ... what does the store offer for customers to put their bulk products in? If they encourage people to bring in their "own containers" great. If they have a massive roll of plastic bags for customers to fill with bulk items ... bad.
The issue is: do you really want some random gross person wrapping their bag around that spout before you? They licked the salt off the bag of nuts, then use it on that spout right in front of you. How would you feel about that? In a perfect world we'd figure out a way but it's like how they banned reusable shopping bags during Covid cuz they are often filthy.
Load More Replies...How about disabled people (blind or even movement impaired??) Overall, it's cool step, considering that each and single of those packages in stores travel in bigger outer packs to those stores (and even more outer layer for pallets).
So they want praise because they stopped doing something they shouldn't be doing in the first place? Also, I want to know how they get their products in (plastic packages or not, also do they try to have everything transprted as environmentally friendly as they can?) and how much wast they create. And somebody better tell me the new dispensers are not made of plastic
If I bring a glass jar to put them in how does it calculate the cost if done by weight?
in ordinary circumstances, you weigh the jar before hand and input that weight as tare.
Load More Replies...Yeah, nice idea as long as the goods are suitable for those unpacked-self-service dispensers. In early spring we got a dispenser shelf at our local supermarket. I bought a small amount of short curly pasta (spirelli) and nearly destroyed the shelf for it because the noodles blocked themselves inside. It's great for really short stuff though.
Those who are optimistic that this is a good idea, have never seen the level of stupid customers can be. Good luck, you're going to need it.
Self serve bulk sections like this have existed for ages in Canadian supermarkets. They work quite well.
Load More Replies...Sorry, the first thing I think of is, when was the last time the store's container was cleaned?
Good lord no one cares about your scam, spam bot
Load More Replies...I am sorry to spoil the fun, but I think we wait yet to see a wasteless concept that is sustainable. Experimental stores so far have had ridiculous prices, partly due to the manual labour involved. Moreover, much of the packaging comes from the steps before selling the product to the end-customer. If slightly larger consumer boxes are merely emptied into the dispenser, not much is won. I am not implying that I do not think wasteless stores are a bad concept, I am just skeptical whether they are viable in their current form.
Erm...one negation too many here: "I am not implying that I think wasteless stores are a bad concept"
Load More Replies...Nothing new about this, 100 years ago most items in stores were sold in bulk and often you brought your own container or took the item home wrapped in wax paper or in a paper bag.
The problem with these dispensers are-- *Unsanitary *Food spoils faster *New food is mixed with old food *Unpopular food that spoils is never removed *Spoiled food waste is 50 times worse than conventional means *Dispensers are not tamper resistant *Stores do not dates the product they put in them *Prices are always over-exaggerated
It is standard procedure in Central Africa. I just hope this won't just reach the hip upperclass.
an awful lot of stores have been doing this in Italy (where I live) for approximately 20 years...
Here's what we haven't seen ... what does the store offer for customers to put their bulk products in? If they encourage people to bring in their "own containers" great. If they have a massive roll of plastic bags for customers to fill with bulk items ... bad.
The issue is: do you really want some random gross person wrapping their bag around that spout before you? They licked the salt off the bag of nuts, then use it on that spout right in front of you. How would you feel about that? In a perfect world we'd figure out a way but it's like how they banned reusable shopping bags during Covid cuz they are often filthy.
Load More Replies...How about disabled people (blind or even movement impaired??) Overall, it's cool step, considering that each and single of those packages in stores travel in bigger outer packs to those stores (and even more outer layer for pallets).
So they want praise because they stopped doing something they shouldn't be doing in the first place? Also, I want to know how they get their products in (plastic packages or not, also do they try to have everything transprted as environmentally friendly as they can?) and how much wast they create. And somebody better tell me the new dispensers are not made of plastic
If I bring a glass jar to put them in how does it calculate the cost if done by weight?
in ordinary circumstances, you weigh the jar before hand and input that weight as tare.
Load More Replies...Yeah, nice idea as long as the goods are suitable for those unpacked-self-service dispensers. In early spring we got a dispenser shelf at our local supermarket. I bought a small amount of short curly pasta (spirelli) and nearly destroyed the shelf for it because the noodles blocked themselves inside. It's great for really short stuff though.
Those who are optimistic that this is a good idea, have never seen the level of stupid customers can be. Good luck, you're going to need it.
Self serve bulk sections like this have existed for ages in Canadian supermarkets. They work quite well.
Load More Replies...Sorry, the first thing I think of is, when was the last time the store's container was cleaned?
Good lord no one cares about your scam, spam bot
Load More Replies...
179
31