All “sold by weight” UK latest shopping style September 16th 17:11

It's been over a year since plastic shopping bags were charged in Japan.

Although it is becoming common to decline plastic shopping bags, it seems that the fact that packaging and containers become garbage every time you shop has not changed much.

Under these circumstances, supermarkets are spreading in the UK to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated by shopping to "zero."

It is a mechanism to "sell by weight" all products from food to daily necessities and bring them back in the container you brought.

Will it take root as a new shopping style?

(London Branch Hiroko Matsuzaki)

All "sold by weight"

Greenwich is a 30-minute drive east of central London.

It is a high-class residential area that is also known for having an observatory.

The store is open in a corner of the market in the center of town.

We handle a large number of products.

A total of more than 450 items such as eggs, milk, seasonings, daily necessities and cosmetics are lined up.

All products are "sold by weight".

Customers bring a container, and when they enter the store, they first weigh it empty.

That's it for shopping.

Put as many items as you want in each container.

Finally, when the container is weighed again, the price is automatically displayed.

All products, including soy sauce and shampoo, are sold this way.

I also decided to buy oatmeal as a trial.

The cameraman I interviewed with me murmured sideways.

"Cheap than I expected"

About 260 yen in a 500 gram container.

It was the same price as buying at a major supermarket instead of local organic products.

The owner says, "Even if the quality is good, if it is too expensive, you will not be able to go to the store, so we are trying to offer it at a reasonable price."

It seems that the secret is that the cost can be reduced because no container or packaging is required.

Increasing attention due to corona

Vitute Viscatkaita, who runs the store with her husband, lives in her hometown of Greenwich.

There was a strong awareness of the problem with plastic waste, and he used to take a bus and go to another store by weight.

However, the spread of the new coronavirus made it difficult to go out, so we decided to set up our own store.

The store opened in April this year.

It was uncertain how much it would be accepted by the community, but the number of customers increased at a stretch after the summer when regulations on new corona measures were almost abolished.

More than 100 people visited on many days, and sales in August reached about 1.6 million yen.

Mr. Vitute believes that the background is the change in life caused by the corona disaster.

Mr. Vitute Viscatchikaita, who runs the store

"The increase in online shopping has led to an increase in the number of people who have been surprised by the large amount of garbage generated by shopping and have come to want to review it. So in half a year we will be able to double our sales. "

The effect is not limited to reducing plastic waste

I interviewed him on Friday afternoon.

Even during the daytime on weekdays, people were constantly visiting the store.

What do regular customers think?

Regular customers

"If you come here, you can get most of the food you need. Above all, it motivates you to reduce plastic waste."

There seems to be a strong awareness that he wants to solve the garbage problem, which he has always been concerned about.

As I talked to some people, I was able to hear more interesting stories from customers living in the neighborhood.

Customers living in the neighborhood

"If you have what you need, I will come to buy it. For example, if you need oregano for chicken dishes for dinner, you can buy a small amount. Unlike supermarkets, you do not buy too much and leave it. So it really doesn't generate garbage. "

Not only plastic waste, but also food loss may be resolved.

Spreading "zero waste"

These stores are locally called zero waste shops = zero garbage stores, and are spread all over the country.

There are maps created by the owners of each zero waste shop on the Internet, and the number is 371 stores throughout the UK.

Mr. Vitute Viscatchikaita, who runs the store

"It is difficult to suddenly

eliminate

plastic waste, but even little by little, as people who bought 100 grams of rice for trial are now regular customers. It will be fun to know that we can reduce the amount of garbage. We hope that future-oriented stores that consider the environment will become more familiar and commonplace. "

Major supermarkets follow

Zero waste is beginning to spread to major supermarkets.

Waitrose, which has more than 300 stores in the UK, has introduced a trial method of selling dried fruits and tea by weight at a store in the university town of Oxford.

The company has expanded the number of stores selling by weight to four, saying that it was able to reduce plastic containers by 83% in 11 weeks.

"Tesco" adopts another method.

The company announced that it will start a mechanism to have customers return containers for jams and detergents and reuse them at stores at 10 stores.

In response to growing consumer awareness, major supermarkets are appealing to compete for "how much plastic waste should be reduced," and major supermarkets are gradually starting to move toward zero waste.

Town revitalization with zero waste

There are also moves to connect the growing popularity of zero waste to the revitalization of the town.

Burgess Hill, a town with a population of about 30,000 in the southeastern part of England.

When a redevelopment plan came up in a shopping district where vacant stores had been prominent for the past few years, the town decided to focus on zero waste shops, which can be expected to attract customers.

When I recruited managers, I got a hand from the local residents who started a business for the first time.

The town managed to open four stores by negotiating with the landowner to reduce rent and help with refurbishment and air conditioning costs.

Some stores have hundreds of regular customers, and it is said that customers from outside the town have come to the center where zero waste shops are gathered.

Congressman Robert Egleston, who played a central role in the activity, emphasizes that given the long-term development of the city, we should focus on environmentally friendly business rather than following the trends of the times.

Congressman Robert Egleston

"British shopping streets are changing rapidly and businesses 20 years ago no longer exist. We hope that businesses aiming for zero waste will be a guide to the city's sustainable economy."

In fact, Britain, a "garbage powerhouse"

The UK seems to be more aware of environmental issues than other countries, but it can be said that it is actually the result of being driven.

Last year, the scientific journal Science Advances reported that as of 2016, the UK's per capita emissions of plastic waste were second only to the United States.

It was also a big topic that an environmental group announced the results of a survey that the United Kingdom sent most of its plastic waste to countries such as Turkey.

The animation produced by this environmental group triggered a growing public opinion to solve the garbage problem.

It is a visualization of "how much plastic waste is sent abroad from the UK per day", and the appearance of Prime Minister Johnson's doll being swept away by the large amount of plastic waste that has fallen is recorded 10 million PV on the Internet ..

More than 370,000 people have signed a petition not to send their garbage abroad.

The government has been forced to take action, raising the price of plastic shopping bags at supermarkets to 10 pence (about 15 yen) per sheet, and has announced a policy to ban disposable plastic plates and forks within a few years.

We asked an expert about the future of Britain.

Retail consultant Kate Hardcastle

"This fall, the United Nations Environmental Conference COP26 will take place in Glasgow, England. As citizens become more concerned about plastic waste, there is more pressure from governments and businesses to take leadership. Against the backdrop of people's environmental awareness, Zero Waste Shop will attract people and further expand as a sustainable business model. "

Will it be a new shopping style?

In the UK, I felt that the zero waste shop was not just a fad, but was taking root as a local supermarket.

Even in Japan, more than a year has passed since the charge for plastic shopping bags, and new customs are being accepted.

A proposal to review the method of providing disposable plastic products has also been finalized, and the response is likely to go further.

Reducing the use of plastic is also a trade-off for convenience, and there are circumstances that cannot be easily achieved.

However, for example, if you use the sale by weight, you can reduce food loss and purchase products at a low price.

I hope that new forms of shopping will spread in various places, even little by little.

Hiroko Matsuzaki,

London Bureau

Joined in 2012. After working at the Nagoya Bureau and the International Department, she is currently affiliated.

Coverage on European economy, gender, environmental issues, etc.