Zero-Waste Grocery Store To Open In Germany

Two women in Germany have produced an innovative new grocery store to open later this year. Original Unvertpackt is a completely zero-waste grocery store created by social impact innovators Sara Wolf and Milena Glimbovski. The basis for the store is that consumers should have a choice as to how much waste they produce as well as what kind of food they are buying.

Glimbovski and Wolf achieved zero-waste by doing away with packaged items and instead using bulk bins, beverage stations for refillable water bottles, and reusable containers that customers can either buy in-store or bring from home. They also encourage customers to bring their own reusable grocery bags to bring their food home with them.

The project has received massive support not just from private financers but also from German citizens as well. Glimbovski and Wolf used crowd-funding to make the final $61,000 that they couldn't get from the private backers. German citizens went above and beyond the goal, and raised around $124,000 for the store. The creators insist that they aren't "big players" in the food industry, but are opening this grocery store in order to show big conglomerates that there is a more sustainable way to sell food.

The movement to reduce our carbon footprint is growing on an international scale, but there are still many obstacles to overcome. Each American still produce nearly 3 pounds of waste each every day, which means an average of over 1,000 pounds of trash per American, per year. Grocery stores contribute to this waste because 80% of stock sold in stores is packaged in plastic, or other disposable and unsustainable containers.