7 Tips for Eco Friendly Supermarket Shopping

Here are my 7 top tips for eco-friendly supermarket shopping. 

Choose time slots online

When you are shopping online you will get options for timeslots. Some stores such as Tesco and Waitrose offer eco slots or the choice to have it at some point that day. This means that the vans can fit you in on their route rather than going out of the way to drop your shopping off. Often this is more economical. 

Take back your soft plastics

Co-op and Tesco will now take soft plastics. I’m sure other stores will follow suit soon too. Soft plastics include things like bread bags, sweet and crisp packets and so on. Keep a bin in your house for soft plastics to return to the store when you next go. 

Take your own bags to the store

Yawn. Obvious. But I am putting it in here anyway. If you forget your bags simply load everything back in your trolly then pop it in your car. When you get home you can transfer the shopping from the car to the house using boxes, washing up baskets or reusable bags.

If you order online the shopping is unlikely to come bagged, I know Asda, Tesco and Waitrose have gone bag free. The last time I shopped with Ocado it came in bags, which you can return for 10p per bag.

It is annoying though when you shop online and they send you a single pepper in a plastic bag. 

Choose loose fruit and veg 

Why bananas are stored in plastic bags makes absolutely no sense to me. Choose fruit and veg that is not pre packed. Sometimes you pay less and it gives you the option to select the exact carrots, apples and potatoes you want. You can pop these in a reusable drawstring bag, or I just weigh them and stick the sticker to the item for scanning. You’ll wash it before you eat it anyway. 

Things like mushrooms you might want to contain in a bag or container, just make sure it is reusable for absolute eco-friendly points.

Reduce items in plastic 

Where possible, try to buy products that come in minimal or zero plastic. One example that springs to mind here is oats. Cheaper oats, often supermarket own, come in plastic bags. However, Quaker Oats come in boxes, no plastic. 

If you have a Waitrose with a refill shop near you then take your own containers. If the store has a deli counter then buy cold meats and cheeses from there asking them to use your Tupperware and reusable pots.

Ask yourself, do you need to do a big shop?

Do you really need to fill up your cupboards once a week, or could you do a local shop every other day? You could walk to your local Co-op or supermarket every few days and pick up only what you need. This will help to reduce your carbon footprint and food waste too. 

Write a list

On the subject of food waste, a great way to avoid so much waste is to plan meals. Write a list of all the meals you plan on eating that week and the ingredients you need for them. When you have done your food shopping online or in-store, sort out what you will be eating in order of when things are going out of date. I got really good at this during lockdown when I was doing minimal supermarket trips and trying to get the most out of each food shop.