Packaging is everywhere when shopping. Who has never had the (unpleasant) surprise of discovering, when opening a first package, countless individual packaging that only multiplies waste?
Manufacturers, under the guise of hygiene and practicality, do not hesitate to accumulate layers. Cardboard is a lesser evil, but generally, it is mainly plastic and its derivatives. Even before putting the groceries in the cupboards and fridge, we have already filled the trash with unnecessary packaging.
To combat this scourge, different approaches are being implemented. Regulation mainly aims at ending single-use plastic packaging by 2040 and relies on a polluter-pays principle. However, other initiatives, sometimes spontaneous, are also being implemented locally and can serve as precursors to more global initiatives.
Bulk Against Single-Use Packaging
As an RTL article reminds us, common alternatives to single-use plastics are offered to consumers during their purchases in supermarkets. Several stores have sections offering bulk products (especially dry foods: pasta, cereals, seeds, etc.).
When buying a package, one should not be fooled, the price of the packaging also affects what one pays. Buying in bulk already allows for this saving. It is also a major lever to promote container reuse and say goodbye to disposable plastics.
However, self-service distributors also have their flaws. The main one, from the consumer’s point of view, often comes from a less assured control over the quantities poured. It is not uncommon to be surprised by the product flow and end up leaving with a larger volume than desired (and therefore a higher price at the checkout). However, an innovation allows to put an end to this problem!
An Initiative that Could Spread!
The E.Leclerc hypermarket in Templeuve-en-Pévèle (59242), in the North, is experimenting with new devices that could change the game and reassure consumers eager to maintain control over their purchases. As shown by Olivier Dauvers in a video shared on social networks, the store has, in the coffee aisle, equipment never seen before.
The customer can take a container (deposit) and clip it onto the machine that will pour the selected coffee, ground or whole beans, and especially directly weigh the volume provided. This allows the consumer to see in real-time the price he will pay and thus avoid any unwanted excess. The store also guarantees a 5% cheaper bulk rate than buying the same coffee on the shelf, already packaged.
This initiative currently only involves a single coffee brand. However, it is highly likely, if the experience is successful with consumers, that this type of device will be adopted by others and even by the large-scale distribution chains themselves.
