By Steve Davies, Healthy Planet Columnist
Sometimes, it takes a long time to get somewhere and other times, not so long. Well, after looking back at what I wrote last month on recycling plastic, I realized this is one of those journeys where it’s going to probably take a little longer. So, first up I’m going to begin with grocery stores.
I started by going to both of our local grocery stores here in my neighborhood and interestingly enough, I started by going to an area of the stores where over the years I have rarely gone and that is where they carry bulk products. What I noticed right off the bat however, is that there are very few items that even come in bulk.
In fact, only one of the two stores even calls the area bulk. They also don’t even let you choose the amount of the items you’re looking to purchase. They include various items that come in pre-packaged plastic containers. In fact, both stores also only have one size of container.
What bulk used to do was it allowed you to buy as much as you need of the item you wanted. What’s also nice these days is many stores now have bags that are compostable so in effect, that reduces the number of plastic containers that you need for a variety of items. While I’m not sure why, some stores also allow you to use your own containers. That’s something I’m hoping to find out in the near future.
Now after visiting both of my local grocery stores, I also went with my oldest son to our local market. While many of the same items can be found at your local grocery store, one area where I’ve come to find you can make a difference is in the small fruit section. While those items at the grocery stores are always in plastic containers, in our neighborhood most of those items can be found in cardboard containers. In addition, many of the items at the market overall, come individually, with a limited amount of fruit in plastic bags.
Where I’m planning to go next are to the two chain stores in our town to see what items they have that come in bulk. Back in the day, the stores where you usually found the most items in bulk were in fact our local health food stores. While neither of these stores are health food stores, they do have a larger selection of their own brand items. So, stay tuned!
For any questions or comments about recycling please email me at thprecycler@yahoo.com