Hi Readers! This blog post is a little bit different than my other ones. I wanted to show you all what zero-waste grocery shopping can look like and reflect on my successes and failures in reducing waste over the past two-ish months.
I've been interested in environmental sciences for a while, and in the past few years have been especially interested in waste reduction and management. However, besides buying a reusable water bottle, shopping bag, and sort of trying to buy and use products with less packaging, I wasn't really doing a whole lot. My internship at Unverpackt gave me both the motivation and the means to start doing more to reduce my waste and hopefully move towards a minimal waste lifestyle.
My first shopping trip- January 6th
New to Kiel, I wasn't yet sure how this whole zero-packaging shopping thing was going to work for me. I admittedly had my doubts and also just really needed to buy some food to get me through the next couple of days. The peas lasted me until pretty much my last day in Kiel and I didn't finish that whole box of pasta (I did give the rest to my roommate, though). Other improvements that could be made were choosing a bread spread that was in glass and not packing the pepper and the rolls in bags.
This purchase was made at the movies. Although the m&ms did provide a nice snack for the next few weeks and the paper cup did come in handy a few times, I definitely could have found alternatives with less packaging. Unverpackt where I worked sells unpackaged chocolate and there are lots of other containers I could have used instead of that plastic cup. Mixed feelings about this purchase because the m&ms were good but I'll most likely be purchasing alternatives in the future.
These aren't grocery shopping purchases, but grocery shopping is not the only place where garbage can be created or saved. The shoes did come with a bit of packaging and a price sticker (though I didn't take the box home) and are in and of themselves non-recyclable, but have already proved themselves to be a good purchase. The other picture is of my lunch one day. By the time this picture was taken I was pretty hangry so while it's not completely zero-Waste, I think it's pretty close. All in all, I'm pleased with both of these purchases.
This was probably my worst purchase in terms of plastic packaging and waste. Small successes are probably the unpackaged fruit, the vegan bread spread in a glass jar, and the fact that the oatmeal (in the yellow packaging) lasted for many breakfasts and was good for a quick warm breakfast. Unavoidable packaging includes the cheese packaging(potentially), the toothpaste, and perhaps also the paper towels since my apartment was getting pretty gross at that point and I needed to do something. I probably could've just used cloth towels, though. Mixed feelings about the razor- I did decide to buy the one with one handle and replaceable blades instead of many handles all already with blades, but it's still a lot of plastic. Things I could've done better: solid shampoo and lotion instead of in a bottle or tube (both of which I've since done), hanker chief instead of tissues, an alternative to the loofah, brought a tupperware or already used bag for the bread.
Successes: mostly unpackaged. Places for improvement: the packaged tomatoes- ughh.
The paper bag was purchased in order to be used as recycling. The jar of sauce was made out of glass and was reused several times after this purchase. I probably could have found a non-plastic peeler.
Another movie purchase. Unfortunately, sweet popcorn reigned supreme at the movie theater down the street from where I lived so salty popcorn was only available in this packaging heavy contraption. The popcorn was popped inside of this whole box which had a couple pieces of waxy paper inside to contain the grease. Very packaging heavy but at least the popcorn was a great addition to packed lunches for a while.
Shopping at normal grocery stores. Bread is packaged because I wouldn't be able to eat a whole loaf of bread (which I could buy unpackaged at a bakery) by myself before it went bad. The canned vegetables were for 2 specific recipes that I had planned for the week. I could have bought unpackaged vegetable broth, but was buying a jar to share with my roommate and then leave at the apartment when I left Kiel.
A shopping trip to Unverpackt on the same day.
Also on the same day. The cake was delicious but came with quite a bit of packaging.
Three purchases all on the same day. Once again the cake came with lots of packaging. I could've/should've reused a bag for the bread. The spice was once again a purchase to be left behind in Kiel. Unpackaged coconut yogurt doesn't exist. And I guess maybe I could've found unpackaged cheese?
The picture doesn't show the contents or container very well but this is zero-packaging GORP and chocolate. A reused applesauce jar and a little self-mixing made this great snack for my train ride.
This was a pretty rough day. Failed plans resulted in a haphazard dinner and a shopping trip with a lot of packaging. The paradies Creme was comfort food for another day. I'm not sure if the bag for bread was reused but I hope it was.
Another zero-packaging shopping trip. I bought too much of the thyme and the food that all of this was used to make was a bit of a fail, but unpackaged nonetheless.
More snacks for a train ride plus an onion. (Which was not a train ride snack if you were wondering)
I got to go to Copenhagen's zero packaging grocery store! These are the cookies I bought there (I even brought my own Tupperware along). 10/10 can recommend.
I really wanted to go to this one food place in Copenhagen. Unfortunately, I answered yes when the lady asked if a to-go container was ok. Along with the plastic cup, I think I also got a plastic spoon. I did take the cup home to reuse and recycle though.
Some packaging here. The paper bags were actually a means to reduce landfill waste, though, since they are meant for compostable garbage. The glass containers as well as the egg container were borrowed from Unverpackt. Oat milk is great and I can definitely recommend it if you haven't tried it yet. Unfortunately it only comes in tetra packs. My other milk option was cow milk in returnable glass bottles. However the milk would have gone bad before I could finish it. Or I could buy cow milk in a tetra pack.
Purchased on the same day as the above picture this purchase was just really unfortunate. I don't remember what I bought at the bakery but it appears to include yet another disposable bag. I ended up throwing the cheese out because even just smelling it made me sick. And I only discovered the wonders of butter in a glass at the end of my 2 months in kiel. The actual butter containers are quite handy though.
Not the best picture quality but here's my solid shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion. Note the plastic cup from Copenhagen. I should also add here that I purchased 2 plastic containers to hold these while traveling. An eco-friendlier option may have been steel, glass, or plant-based plastic.
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| A close-up of the butter in a glass just because I think it's so cool! |
Ingredients to make snickerdoodles! The cream of tartar was a real struggle to find, hence the packaging heavy tiny packets plus my super sketchy paper bag from the pharmacy. The sugar and the salt were in the apartment and the rest is unpackaged.
It was a lot of fun trying to see how much packaging I could reduce and I'm hoping to continue reducing waste during my semester in Freiburg and when I go back to the US. I'm also super pumped for Freiburg's zero-packaging store opening on April 1st.
If you too want to see how much unnecessary packaging waste you can reduce from your life, there are tons of great websites, blogs, and books that you can find through a quick google search. Reduced/Zero waste living is a small step that each of us can take that has a huge effect.
Thanks for reading and til next time!
