NATIONAL NEWS - Plastic waste remains a concern for many customers and this trial will give them the choice to shop for more everyday fruit and vegetables free from plastic packaging, PnP said in a statement.
The nude wall will include twelve new seasonal loose fruit and vegetables – brown steak mushrooms, portabellini mushrooms, red & green chillies, cocktail tomatoes, sweet Palermo peppers, baby brinjals, green beans, broccoli, zucchini, sweet corn and baby cabbage.
These join the other 35 loose fruit and vegetables that were already available to PnP customers.
Paper bags will be available to customers at the ‘nude’ produce wall to complete their plastic-free greengrocer-inspired shop. For a further sustainable option, customers can purchase PnP’s new reusable netted fruit & vegetable fresh produce bag (R7,50) or bring their own transparent and sealable reusable bag for loose selling produce.
Paula Disberry, Retail Executive: Commercial at Pick n Pay, says the company is really excited about this innovation, and hopes to extend the loose range even further. Currently, the sale of loose products accounts for only 10 percent of all fruit and vegetables sold in PnP stores.
“There is scope to grow our ‘nude’ wall offering, but it needs to be sustainable and without unintended consequences. Reducing plastic waste has obvious benefits, but we need to be careful not to increase food waste levels during the process.”
She said packaging plays an important role for fresh produce as it protects the item, but also prevents dehydration and extends both the shelf and home life for the customer which prevents unnecessary food waste.
Pre-packed produce can also be safely donated to food bank organisations, while not all loose products are suitable for donation.
“Previously our loose produce range wasn’t as popular as our pre-packed products. We believe this is shifting as consumers become increasingly more conscious about the environment. The impact of plastic is now front of mind for customers. We will closely monitor shopping behaviour and if this trial is successful, we can expand the initiative to more stores,” Disberry said.
Part of Pick n Pay’s plastic waste reduction initiatives announced last year included steps to reduce plastic packaging.
Disberry said the thickness of PnP’s value-added vegetable bags has been maintained at 30 microns, making it the lightest bag in the market.
“Our decision to not increase the bags to 40 microns means we have prevented the use of approximately 12 tonnes of plastic last year.”
Stickers have been removed from some of Pick n Pay’s existing loose range – sweet potatoes, gem squash and butternut – and replaced with laser printing.
“Even if a small label is used on a single product, the label backing is still plastic. The laser removes the top layer of skin on hardy vegetables and etches the PnP logo, supplier code and sell-by date directly onto the individual product. This means zero plastic is used on these products.” Disberry said they hope to roll out laser printing to more products very soon.
