New twist to weigh and save shopping

FRANCE’S first completely packaging-free shop has opened in Bordeaux, as the country joins a rising tide of lower-waste shopping that is already popular in Germany, Italy, Austria and the UK.

La Recharge opened yesterday in the city's Rue Sainte-Colombe after a successful crowdfunding campaign. It sells items in bulk, but without any packaging. Instead, shoppers are invited to bring their own containers and fill them with whatever they need.

The cost of a purchase is decided by its weight, similar to buying products from a market, wholefood shop or butcher.

In common with a regular grocery store, La Recharge sells pasta, fresh produce, meats, cleaning products or drinks that come from producers and factories in the region, and the shop’s owners say that they will work to ensure that their products are as cheap as possible.

Reusable glass jars are supplied for products, such as yoghurts.

According to the website ecoemballages.fr, 7kg of the 20kg of food products thrown out by each person in France every year, is packaging. In total, 1.3bn tons of food goes to waste every year.

La Recharge’s owners hope that, by buying only what they need, shoppers will cut the amount of food waste.

Photo: Anna