Why buying plastic-free groceries is so hard (Marketplace)

let's talk about plastic waste is the packaging in your supermarket out-of-control the potato's ridiculous The Grapes ridiculous a coconut really they should be ashamed of yourselves we are trashing the planet everyone knows there's a crisis stop using so much plastic how to fight back against the waist on your marketplace this is a tale of two families and their weekly shopping two families about to switch places it's a social experiment to see how the other side lives when it comes to one of the biggest issues of our time plastic pollution and how we deal with it I think 95 percent of what we get is plastic I think the five percent is probably the food inside the bus or the liquid in the plastics I buy so little plastic now it's I mean I'd say maybe this sticker has some plastic in it or if I see something that is going to be food waste then I will purchase something in plastic it's hard to avoid walk into most grocery stores and along with all that choice comes all this plastic supermarkets and their suppliers have come to rely on it because it's cheap and durable shoppers though are given few options with packaging meant to be used just once and then tossed most of it is not recycled because there's no real money in it so despite your weekly sorting it could end up being burned or in landfills lakes and oceans dumped in faraway countries and we've all seen the damage that can do I think yourself like maybe twice a week because we're always going to buy milk yeah cuz the baby likes to drink milk like every night before he's bedtime Jessica Jonathan and JJ mostly shop at no frills near their home in the North End of Toronto II never freeze Levesque we did before but then we just stopped yeah no frills is a chain of discount grocery stores connected to supermarket giant Loblaws it's cheaper a lot of places they use a lot of plastic are a lot more convenient more cheaper for us to buy yeah and they're more available to us I also made the vegan parm there's more choice downtown where Sophie Mick and nyla try to live a zero-waste lifestyle basically trying to be more mindful of the waste that we create on a daily basis and trying to reduce it as much as possible [Music] Sophie shops about once a week in local stores that support zero waste and offer food in bulk and the places that I shop just don't have that don't have everything covered in plastic like a typical grocery store would I try to avoid single-use plastics at all costs so that the yeah Jessica and Jonathan don't think much about reducing their waste they're new to the idea of even recycling it you should have just see what he does did he just grab plastic of a recycling bin and put it in the garbage bag Oh Donny huh we collect things that go these guys don't recycle much either but for very different reasons so we fill this I don't know it's probably like I would say every five to seven weeks five to seven weeks yeah they're actual garbage is practically non-existent oh so this is from September 12 so two months ago you see the cartoon our two families are about to meet up for the first time here at the CDC Nik for the next two weeks they're gonna swap the way they shot so um do you feel a bit anxious doing either yeah all right how will this couple cope when their lives suddenly become plasticized well I would say you're very worried because you'll have anxiety about wasting and where will these two find time for a new life of inconvenience when you guys go grocery shoppings how do you guys do it a feeling that no plastic along with the swap we're trying something different with Canada's biggest grocers Loblaws and Sobeys they're part of the problem so they'd have to be part of the solution too and they could influence their suppliers even change their own brand packaging so rather than criticize them for what they're not doing we're asking them what they plan to do to reduce plastic packaging we'll see what they have to say the need to turn down the tap on plastic waste has taken on new urgency in the past year ever since China banned it from being imported before then many countries including Canada were sending at least some of their plastic waste overseas instead of recycling it themselves China would buy it recycle it and make new products out of it but with the ban what's happening to all that plastic this is exclusive footage provided to marketplace by Greenpeace from Malaysia a country the environmental group now calls the world's rubbish bin Greenpeace says this was filmed just a few months ago about an hour outside the capital Kuala Lumpur it's an illegal dump filled with plastic waste from all over the world including Canada this particular pile has a grocery bag from Sobeys a milk bag from scotts fern sold throughout Atlantic Canada here's another bag from a wine store in Halifax a birdseed bag from a company in Ontario a fun bag from an East Coast bakery and this heavy-duty plastic bag that used to hold water softening pellets from Windsor salt out of Quebec Windsor system Sabretooth oh you got to get the good one [Applause] [Music] it's a few days into the big waste swamp and guess what we forgot our bags so so you got to carry everything up today in our hands and our two families are trying out their new ways of shopping and sending updates remember these guys are supposed to avoid plastic packaging here we are again buying JJ's milk I think we find ourself eyeing more milk now because they come in smaller packaging but they're also more expensive so it's becoming a little bit costly but you know Theron that's not in plastic Hey the truth is most milk cartons are lined with plastic inside and out but they're trying the zero wasters are now just wasting as they call it and not much liking the change here's another example of something that I would get involved and if I get it packaged I'm forced to get a certain amount and this is $12.99 I definitely would pay a lot less than both and I can get exactly the amount that I want both families say it'd be great if they had more choice and less plastic but a week after our first contact with Sobeys and another email they say they're still considering our invitation to talk meanwhile Loblaws tells us to look at its corporate social responsibility report this is the latest one and yet inside no mention of reducing plastic packaging back at the swamp how are you gonna get used Jessica and Jonathan are thinking tacos for dinner and trying to avoid plastic in the process they're all wrapped in plastic now we gonna get some new these black trays are a particular problem they're not recycled in most parts of the country meantime the tortilla wraps are all wrapped in plastic - good make some more top post flavored salt cover and plastic maybe they can make their own they go looking for ingredients at another grocery store nearby where it's also cheaper but when they finally locate the flour they like this is like corn flour so we wanted to make what used to be paper packaging is now plastic over the butcher counter they nervously order ground beef and ask to use their own packaging but plastic is still part of the equation as it uses a bag to pour out to me even so a woman watching applauds the effort like the ocean in Mexico it's like so fat and how like it's giving her hope that people are actually trying to save the world back downtown Sophie Mick and nyla are at their local Sobeys where plastic wrap peppers are allowed on their list though normally they wouldn't buy them over at the egg section Organic ironically means plastic courtesy of Saudis in-house brand quite a bit of frosting like this you don't just have one flap you've got in the second flat it's there that's very plastic we contact so v's and Loblaws two more times but after a month of waiting there's still no sign they'll talk to us about their plastic packaging we have though found a grocer who will talk one that could be an example for supermarkets everywhere and it's taking us across a plastic filled ocean to England if we as one store operator with very little resources can do this in ten weeks what could a Loblaws do if they put all the resources behind us how to rage against the waste on your marketplace this is your marketplace Canada's supermarkets are filled with plastic packaging but our two biggest chains Loblaws and Sobeys don't want to talk to us about their role in the plastic crisis facing our planet so we're heading to England in search of solutions like Canada not a lot of plastic gets recycled in the UK new research though shows British shoppers are becoming more concerned about packaging than price stores are starting to listen including this budget in North London one of a chain of local supermarkets it's among the first in the world to introduce plastic free zones nearly 2,000 products without plastic packaging and Counting we are trashing the planet and for me plastic has become a symbol of one of the things that's wrong with our society today so we took action because we could we felt we could make a difference Andrew Thornton owns this budget and in just 10 weeks he transformed it products affected include everything from fresh produce and fish to bread cheese and packaged food even bacon plastic free bacon that's that is and the best bacon I have ever tasted and it's plastic free and ours is totally wrapped in plastic but what is that that is that's a cellulose plant-based cellulose plant-based cellulose looks quite like looks like they behave like plastics but is lasting and therefore it's compostable in a beautiful car Thornton says he ultimately needs big suppliers like Coke and Nestle to play along he hopes to inspire them and other retailers including Canadian ones if we as one store operator with very little resources can do this in 10 weeks what could a Loblaws or a Tesco or a Walmart do if they put all the resources behind us and I know that the Canadian public care a lot about this I have family in Vancouver I spent a lot of time in Canada I know you guys care and and our response here has not only been in positive words but we've had a in a reasonably significant sales shift you mean you're doing better as a bit doing better as a business so we didn't set like to do it for commercial reasons but there is a commercial benefit hey David Andrew Thornton says he couldn't have done it without this woman Franky Gillard and her group a plastic planet we work with can with brands and with supermarkets to try and find solutions to basically cut off the plastic tab Gillard's happy to show off her work when I came in the store was completely cut all the bake the bakery was in plastic solution words well it's simple we'll just make it naked as in no packaging and all the alternatives she's found for plastic this is a paper bag and this has the cellulose film so that plant is completely plant-based Isis best so it looks like plastic it feels like plastic but it isn't fast it isn't plastic and so what happens with that it biodegrades and why are you great so you would put this with your food waste or your modern waste and it would literally just go back into your things create and fertilized soil it's clear she's not afraid to play hardball with suppliers how do you nudge a supplier in that direction well you basically say we're going to delist your products really you go that far oh yeah we have gone that far I mean I've delivered quite a lot you mean in this store you said if you're not gonna take it out of plastic yeah I'm gonna find another I'm gonna find somebody else that sells what you sell in an environmentally friendly packaging yeah that's it's it's very straightforward it doesn't have to be complicated when we show her photos the way it is in most Canadian supermarkets she doesn't hold back god I mean I didn't mention the cucumber because honestly that's such an obvious thing I don't even know why they continue to want to wrap the cucumber it's ridiculous the potato's ridiculous the grapes ridiculous I haves even more ridiculous a coconut really they should be ashamed of themselves whoever that provider is mushrooms again in at least nasty black plastic trade eggs disgraceful I didn't even realize they still do that really I'm shocked actually the thing is they're just not thinking they're just doing by rote what they've always done but you're saying that you could change very quickly yeah I mean they control the supply chain the suppliers want to do business with these two supermarkets so all the supermarket needs to do is say I no longer want to receive it this way I want to receive it in another way that has no plastic then the stores have that power cuz they have that power the power to make or break friends so why don't their we're heading home with even more questions for Canada's big supermarkets the waste wars are just getting started I am supporting your business so support my values this is your marketplace how to fight back against the waste we're outside a law blahs store in Toronto about to launch a different swap give me a hand here son yeah you're good there's fur so an audit of their plastic packaging I'm gonna grab your bags and we're just gonna take a quick little audit of how much plastic you have in your stuff when you go to the grocery store do you see a lot of plastic like plastic packaging no do you feel like you have a choice no potatoes in plastic cheese strings plastic in plastic you got your bread wrapped in plastic you got your sushi wrapped in plastic plastic tape yeah so bread wrapped in plastic cheese wrapped in plastic other cheese wrapped in plastic yogurts in plastic wrapped in paper what else do we got oh we got a lot of plastic here your bag doesn't have a single product without plastic yeah it's cleaning day everything comes with plastic everything comes with plastic we're swapping it out for reusable stuff like these projects bags these glass containers and these cloth bags not cheap but not plastic and better than what Loblaws is offering could we put your chicken here as cleanly and safely as possible in a reusable container and then you get to keep the reusable container here's what I'm gonna do I'm gonna get rid of this plastic and I'm gonna give you a resealable same sort of thing with your peppers here I'm gonna get rid of your plastic there we go more of it we're collecting see we're going really fast here we were hoping to be inside learning more about what Loblaws is doing to reduce all this plastic but they won't talk they're customers though would like to see more action what would message for law of loss change the packaging do you think law gloss has the power to do that I think so because they can say I'm not gonna buy it from you unless it has its effects that's what stores are telling suppliers in England there is a time this did not come wrapped in plastic yeah so why does it now need to be in plastic was a good success yeah good to meet you tell the guys that blow cloth what's up I'm also customer who doesn't appreciate all the plastic this is how much is generated by just seven shoppers coming out of that one store so imagine how much plastic waste comes out of every law of laws store across Canada over it's so B's there's just as much plastic that comes with the products can I just see what you have like you got plastic there yeah plastic plastic in a plastic bag in another plastic bag yes this one has a lot of plastic it's okay so that one right your cherries are wrapped in plastic cherries you got the oranges these are divorce yeah so that's made out of plastic we show shoppers some of the alternatives we found in England they have same kind of mesh that's not plastic that's biodegradable it's actually made out of wood that's amazing that's amazing it's a lot better footing why I meant and everything is well right well it's for thinking like we should have more of that kind of thinking here when you look at a store that's figured out what would you say in to a store that has followed by the example get on board get on board miss neighborhood I can do my part but a store like this can also do theirs and then they're contributing to the whole community just like long-lost customers so so be shoppers we talk to what better options to but just like Loblaws so visas refusing to come and talk about Sophie's didn't even get back to us in writing Loblaws did send a statement listing what they call incremental changes they've made such as launching single serve coffee pods that are compostable removing plastic microbeads from their own brand personal care products and making us pay for plastic bags as for our families the swap is over I think they got it it's so easy yeah they basically could pick up anything I'd be like there's our waste yeah that's how easy it was yeah after all of this what's your message to the supermarket's I would say stop using so much plastic we see products wrapped in plastic put in a plastic container and then we're putting them in plastic bags you're saying you'd like to have more choice exactly it's up to me let me make my decision and I'm supporting your business so support my values yeah food for thought for Canadian supermarkets what's the worst over packaging you've ever seen and I find something that's a great quality and great price but it's wrapped in an absurd amount of packaging like this coconut here I feel very frustrated send us more pictures at marketplace at cbc.ca once that of identical twins what I have French and German oh I don't know two different sets of ancestry we strongly think that you and your sister should get the same report can your spit really hold the secret to who you are and where you come from marketplace puts five of the most popular ancestry kids to the test [Music]

Channel: CBC News

Views: 1,286,304

Rating: 4.8877678 out of 5

Keywords: plastic-free, zero waste, plastic-free supermarket, plastic waste, plastic packaging, wasteful packaging, reduce reuse, supermarket, Loblaws, Sobeys, Budgens, Thornton's Budgens, London UK, UK, Canada, CBC Marketplace

Id: n5Qbi_dB3Qo

Length: 22min 30sec (1350 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 11 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/TaxMansMom]

I really enjoyed this. Thank you for sharing. I liked the part where they sat outside the grocery store and gave people more sustainable packaging solutions for what they'd just bought. I think a lot of people are overwhelmed with where to start reducing waste and i thought that was a really nonconfrontational way do it.

[u/CocoLaKiki]

I would skip to around 12 minutes in for the more interesting part of the video.