Buy Loose, Waste Less
Video
We buy a bag of potatoes. We eat half the bag. The rest? They end up in the bin. It’s an all too familiar pattern happening in kitchens across the UK. And it is crazy that the packaging makes us buy more than we need.
Our research shows that if all apples, bananas and potatoes were sold loose instead of in bags sold by weight, we could save 60,000 tonnes of food each year. That’s 8.2 million shopping baskets!
“I don’t know why they put so many carrots in this bag, I’m not going to get through them.”
Poll
Let’s put this to a vote…
We’ve heard people talk about their concerns with buying loose and here are our answers for the top three:
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Loose fruit and veg is not hygienic
Lots of fruit and vegetables are already naturally wrapped – like oranges – and these wrappers are removed before eating. Either way the Food Standards Agency recommends washing fruit and vegetables with water before you eat them to make sure that they are clean. This advice applies to produce whether it has been bought in packaging or loose.
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Loose fruit and veg goes off quickly compared to packaged
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Buying loose is too expensive
If you are interested in finding out more about why buying loose is so important and what you can do about it go to our quiz and answer a few questions to get tailored information for you.