Amsterdam Supermarket Opens Eco-Friendly Aisle with 700 Items and Zero Plastic Packaging

The eco-friendly movement is going strong worldwide. It’s not only individuals now that are getting in on sustainable living and environment-friendly practices; countless establishments are adding their own green policies, too.

EkoPlaza in Amsterdam, for one, is setting a good example. The supermarket recently opened its plastic-free aisle. The stretch has about 700 grocery items and absolutely zero plastic, which can help reduce plastic waste in the establishment and in the homes of their shoppers.

Food in the plastic-free aisle are displayed in glass, metal, cardboard containers, and other materials that can be composted.

Some of the packaging may appear like plastic, but they are actually biodegradable biofilm, which are made from trees and plants and will break down within 12 weeks in a home composter.

The plastic-free aisle contains food items like meat, rice, milk, chocolate, sauces, yogurt, and fresh fruits and vegetables.

EkoPlaza says that by the end of the year, its 74 stores across the Netherlands will each have a plastic-free aisle. In June, their store in The Hague will debut its own eco-friendly aisle. EkoPlaza chief executive Erik Does said in a statement:

“Plastic-free aisles are an important steppingstone to a brighter future for food and drink.”

The idea for a plastic-free aisle was inspired by the environmental group A Plastic Planet.

The group has developed a plastic-free mark that helps shoppers quickly identify products that have no plastic. Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet, in a statement:

“There is absolutely no logic in wrapping something as fleeting as food in something as indestructible as plastic. Plastic food and drink packaging remains useful for a matter of days yet remains a destructive presence on the earth for centuries afterwards.”

“For decades shoppers have been sold the lie that we can’t live without plastic in food and drink. A plastic-free aisle dispels all that. Finally we can see a future where the public have a choice about whether to buy plastic or plastic free.”