Whether it’s once a week or once a day, going grocery shopping is a fact of life. But be it a ritual or a chore, it is also a chance to make sustainable choices.
Here are six ways to navigate the aisles more effectively, and reduce your footprint in the process.
Before you go
Plastic shopping bags take 20 years to degrade. To curb Australia’s plastic waste, in 2018, the major supermarkets banned plastic shopping bags, asking customers to bring their own or buy a paper bag on their way through the checkout for about 20c. Plastic bag consumption dropped 80% in the first three months of the ban as people changed their habits.
Since then, higher standards for reusable plastic shopping bags have been set, and lightweight plastic shopping bags of 35 microns or less in thickness have also been banned in all states.
Keep bags at the ready to take with you, as well as reusable mesh bags to bundle your fresh produce into – available cheaply at the supermarket, or via organic stores.
The snack aisle
Australia is the second highest generator of single-use plastic waste per capita after Singapore, and you’ll still find plenty of plastic in the aisles. Breads, cereals and discretionary items (also foods that often contain high levels of preservatives) are commonly wrapped in soft plastics and eye-catching but hard-to-recycle wrappers.
In 2023, the Australian Marine Conservation Society found Aldi was the only supermarket with a measurable plastic reduction target. While we wait for supermarkets to target in-store plastics, you can avoid packaging by opting for snacks like nuts that can be bought in bulk – or try shopping at stores that allow you to bring your own containers to refill or shop by the gram. For those with the time and inclination to make your own snacks, homemade energy bars are a great option.
The fruit and veg aisle
You are likely to find less plastic at independent fruit and veg stores, but shopping local will benefit you in more ways than one. Local grocers and market holders will steer you towards the most seasonal produce, likely to be more affordable and better quality. Produce coming from neighbouring regions also means lower freight costs and fewer emissions.
If you don’t have a local grocer, food rescuer companies like Farmers Pick and Good and Fugly have expanded across Australia in recent years, offering boxes of “imperfect” fruit and veg rejected by supermarkets. Fruit may be smaller than average, or vegetables slightly marked, but are just as good on the inside.
With Australians wasting about 7.6m tonnes of food across the supply chain each year, services like Farmers Pick, which rescued 2.5m kilos of fruit and veg in 2023, hope to make a dent.
The fridge section
With meat responsible for more than twice the pollution of fruits, grains and greens, going vegetarian even a few nights a week can have a positive impact.
Meat, the most common source of protein, accounts for nearly 60% of greenhouse gases from global food production, and is responsible for more than double the emissions of plant-based products. Try turning to beans, legumes or tofu as an alternative, or eat chicken or fish instead of red meat more often.
The cleaning aisle
Away from the kitchen, choices for your laundry and bathroom are often associated with chemicals harmful to our waterways.
Many bathroom products contain microplastics, but there are reusable or compostable alternatives out there. Try switching to eco-friendly dental floss and invest in a razor that you can change the blades on instead of disposable ones. Cotton buds, one of the most common litter items in waterways and the ocean with fragments small enough to be ingested by marine life, can now be found made of bamboo or paper, not plastic.
While the eco-friendly market for soaps and cleaning products is often a tussle between effectiveness and environmental credentials, there are some that tick both boxes. Remember that less can be more when washing clothes, and you need only venture down this aisle infrequently.
When you get home
It’s important that you store your produce properly to avoid unnecessary trips back to the shops because your veg goes limp or fruit ripens too quickly (hot tip: avoid the fruit bowl and know what belongs in the fridge).
Food waste generates 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually, but if you’ve shopped at a local grocer, your produce will probably last longer than what you’ll find at the supermarket. But there’s always room for scrap cooking, from carrot tops to potato peels, so very little need go to waste.
Once you’ve unpacked all your groceries, decanted any grains, nuts and legumes into containers, and recycled any soft plastics, be sure to stow your shopping bags away for next week.
