Going to Publix and trying to be zero waste
I have wanted to go zero waste for a long time but it was never the right time. We were in the midst of moving, then we took a vacation. Although when we went on our vacation I did try to be as zero waste as possible while still being friendly and keeping in mind cultural differences. When we got back to Florida and I started looking up bulk and zero waste shops near our house. If you think about it, eating is one of the biggest impacts on lowering your plastic usage!
The grocer that we usually go to is Publix, so we went there to see how much was environmentally friendly. I brought my mesh bags for fruits and veggies and some containers for deli meats. We went to the store and talked to the manager about using our containers in a way that would be sanitary. He said that there was nothing that we could do and that he would love for it to happen. I tried to explain a situation that was not cross-contamination but he had made up his mind and didn’t let me finish my sentence.
He did mention that they recycled plastic bags and light plastics. But I was trying to use things so I wouldn’t have to recycle in the first place. The US is sending plastic bags to China and China is just sending them back, so it doesn’t solve the problem. We embarked on our zero waste journey through the store using what was already provided. We went to the bakery first and I saw some self serve bagels! They were Einstein brothers, (my favorite) we got 2 and then headed over to the deli section. Since we couldn’t do anything about the deli because it wasn’t self serve (can you imagine how many people would get cut?). We got my favorite, curry chicken! And some black forest ham. They gave us samples of the 2 on plastic! UGHHH. I’m over that now though (don’t worry about me). Then we got a watermelon, cilantro, limes, plantains, etc. But the most important part was, I looked on the produce to see if it had any stickers! Even the tiniest bit of waste not produced makes a difference! If you are worried that your cashier won’t know what the number is, you can always take a picture of the codes! Then we got 2 pounds of cheese in plastic but when you get it in bulk you are using less and it is cheaper (most of the time). Then we got mushrooms, eggnog and milk. We got the milk in a gallon container and we decided to get 30 eggs instead of 12 since we go through so many eggs. If you think about it 3, 12 egg containers have more cardboard than a big 30 egg one! When it was time to check out I got my reusable bags out and they were happy to put our groceries in there!
I would say that this was a very successful shopping trip! Make sure you ask a manager about bringing your own containers. It never hurts to ask!
The grocer that we usually go to is Publix, so we went there to see how much was environmentally friendly. I brought my mesh bags for fruits and veggies and some containers for deli meats. We went to the store and talked to the manager about using our containers in a way that would be sanitary. He said that there was nothing that we could do and that he would love for it to happen. I tried to explain a situation that was not cross-contamination but he had made up his mind and didn’t let me finish my sentence.
He did mention that they recycled plastic bags and light plastics. But I was trying to use things so I wouldn’t have to recycle in the first place. The US is sending plastic bags to China and China is just sending them back, so it doesn’t solve the problem. We embarked on our zero waste journey through the store using what was already provided. We went to the bakery first and I saw some self serve bagels! They were Einstein brothers, (my favorite) we got 2 and then headed over to the deli section. Since we couldn’t do anything about the deli because it wasn’t self serve (can you imagine how many people would get cut?). We got my favorite, curry chicken! And some black forest ham. They gave us samples of the 2 on plastic! UGHHH. I’m over that now though (don’t worry about me). Then we got a watermelon, cilantro, limes, plantains, etc. But the most important part was, I looked on the produce to see if it had any stickers! Even the tiniest bit of waste not produced makes a difference! If you are worried that your cashier won’t know what the number is, you can always take a picture of the codes! Then we got 2 pounds of cheese in plastic but when you get it in bulk you are using less and it is cheaper (most of the time). Then we got mushrooms, eggnog and milk. We got the milk in a gallon container and we decided to get 30 eggs instead of 12 since we go through so many eggs. If you think about it 3, 12 egg containers have more cardboard than a big 30 egg one! When it was time to check out I got my reusable bags out and they were happy to put our groceries in there!
I would say that this was a very successful shopping trip! Make sure you ask a manager about bringing your own containers. It never hurts to ask!
Comments
Post a Comment