How we’re doing our bit to tackle plastic

January 15th, 2018 by

Like many people we don’t like using plastic and we’re doing our bit to prevent and reduce the amount we use in a number of ways.  This was a consideration when we opened in June 2016 and we are continually reviewing better ways of packaging, processing and recycling.

Here’s what we’ve done so far…

  • We have only ever used paper carrier bags, which are made from recycled material, they are also reusable and biodegradable.
  • All of our fish, meat, cheese and most of our veg is delivered to us with the bare minimum of plastic packaging, mostly in reusable boxes which go back to the supplier to be refilled.
  • The majority of our veg and many of our baked goods are displayed loose with paper bags for you to use where necessary.
  • The drinking straws in our cafe are biodegradable.
  • Every single bit of our plastic waste generated is sent for recycling.
  • We work with over 200 suppliers and encourage them all to collect and re-use outer packaging where appropriate. If we receive new products that are “over-packaged” or could be made more environmentally sustainable we feedback to the supplier and are happy to work with them to find better solutions.

Help us do more…

Where we do use the greatest amount of plastic packaging is on our fresh counters, for products that have a high water content, are fragile or for food safety reasons. You probably wouldn’t thank us for serving you scallops and salad leaves in a paper bag!  We’ve replaced single use plastic pots with re-useable ones, but if you’d like to help us reduce reliance on plastic further please feel free to:

  1. Bring in your own container for any weighed or priced products at fresh counters, be it plastic or glass or other (please ensure it is spotless and up to the job), and we’ll gladly use it instead of a plastic bag or single use container
  2. Bring in your own reusable cup for takeaway drinks- we’ll give you an extra stamp on your coffee card every time you use it here. If you don’t have a reusable cup, we sell SeaKisses bamboo fibre travel cups that are sustainable and even compostable at the end of their life!

This is all part of our strategy aimed at making the Great Cornish Food Store as environmentally friendly as possible.  We want to do our bit for the planet but it also helps us reduce operational costs, which in turn helps us keep prices down in store for our customers too.  The multifunctional nature of our business means that we keep our waste to an absolute minimum by, for example, using plenty of our fresh produce in the kitchen. Of the waste we do generate, over 90% is recycled or composted.  If you have any ideas on waste reduction we’d be interested to hear them as we strive to improve our performance.

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