Waitrose has unveiled its vision of environmentally conscious shopping, offering customers the chance to buy food and drink that is completely free of packaging as part of a ground-breaking trial for a large retailer. In a new drive to try to eliminate unnecessary plastic and packaging, shoppers will be able to fill their own containers with a range of products from a series of dispensers using a dedicated refill station, one of the first to be installed by a major UK supermarket. In a trial starting this week at a Waitrose supermarket in Oxford, customers are being given refillable options for products including wine and beer, rice and cleaning materials, with prices typically 15% cheaper than the packaged alternatives. A standalone pick and mix range of frozen fruit and a borrow-a-box scheme to help carry shopping home are other new retail formats being tested by Waitrose at the Botley Road shop. Waitrose has transformed the store by removing hundreds of products from their packaging, although shoppers will still be able to buy the packaged versions if they wish. Plastic waste has become a major environmental issue, with television programmes such as Blue Planet exposing its detrimental effects on the oceans, and media coverage highlighting the dangers of a global plastic binge. Waitrose is among the UK’s supermarkets which have signed up to the UK Plastics Pact – an industry-wide initiative to transform packaging and reduce avoidable plastic waste. However, retailers have been criticised for not doing more to tackle the issue at an earlier stage. “This test has potential to shape how people might shop with us in the future so it will be fascinating to see which concepts our customers have an appetite for,” said Waitrose’s Tor Harris. Ariana Densham, an oceans campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “This is a genuinely bold step from Waitrose to trial food dispensers so customers can use refillable tubs and jars. Lots of supermarkets are starting to sell loose fruit and vegetables, but this kind of innovation could spark a refill culture that’s so desperately needed to cut plastics in mainstream shops. “The top 10 UK supermarkets produce 810,000 tonnes of throwaway packaging each year, so we need to see other major retailers taking plastic reduction seriously and following Waitrose’s lead.” A choice of 160 loose fruit and vegetables will be available, along with four different wines and four beers on tap to be taken home in reusable bottles and nearly 30 products including pasta, rice, grains, couscous, lentils, cereals, dried fruit and seeds available from dispensers. The “unpackaged” model relying on refills has already been adopted by some independent retailers, delicatessens and farm shops but this is the first time it is being used at a national supermarket chain. For the borrow-a-box scheme, customers will pay a £5 deposit which is refundable when the container is returned. A frozen pick and mix section initially selling fruit such as blueberries and mango will encourage shoppers to bring in their own containers. • This article was amended on 6 June 2019. An earlier version referred to the refill station in Waitrose as the first trial of its kind in a major UK supermarket. That overlooked Morrisons, which has a similar trial in two Yorkshire stores (Guiseley and Skipton), although it has chosen not to publicise these until they have been fully evaluated.
Waitrose, the UK supermarket chain, is offering customers the chance to purchase entirely packaging-free food and drink at a trial in its Oxford store. Shoppers will be able to bring their own containers, which they can fill from the first dedicated refill station in a leading UK supermarket. Products available in the trial include cleaning materials, rice, beer and wine. Prices for the items are on average 15% cheaper than packaged alternatives, which will remain available. The store is also trialling pick and mix frozen fruit and a borrow-a-box scheme for transporting purchases.