If you plan your shopping, you can easily bring your own containers for collecting loose items.
I love Koz, a dried fruit and nuts shop in Kadikoy, their goods are always fresh, the staff are always obliging, and they have the best fruit & nut mix that has replaced my old processed snacks.
BUT…all their stuff is served in zip-lock plastic pockets! Hmmm…what to do?
Inspired by my Zero waste Heroes I found one of our old Nutella jars (big enough to hold what we get through in a week) and brought it to the shop.
The assistant weighs the jar, (see picture) fills it and weighs it again, only charging for the food weight. Fab fab fab!
Now, everytime I go that way, I grab another jar to fill up. One jar weighs very little, carried in my handbag.
- Easier: Jars are tall and clear: it’s easier to see the contents of my jars than through the stores own packaging. The food keeps fresher, and I can easily carry it without worrying about it bursting open.
- Cheaper: this Fruit & nut mix is so good, I keep a small container my bag/at work as an emergency snack: so I don’t spend money on expensive processed snacks.
Also, my jar holds the amount that we usually get through in a week or two. Now I’m limited to the jar, I no longer over buy food that can easily go stale. - Healthier: dried fruit and nuts are WAY better for you than processed snacks. And the zero packaging is WAY better for your environment.
- Bonus: I’m the funny lady that doesn’t want any plastic… They know my order as soon as I walk in, I’m always in an out in a flash.
THE IMPACT IT’S HAVING
I’ve been going to this shop for about 2 years and have probably collected about 50 of their plastic zip lock bags. Other fruit and nut vendors sell their produce in flimsy plastic bags or clear plastic trays with cellophane covers. These are the kind of low grade plastics that are not reusable, not recyclable and are not usually made from recycled plastics either. What’s the point of eating healthily if you then poison the soil with rubbish?
THIS HAPPY LOW LIFE 