Albert Heijn will present a new waste-free packaging for pasta and tea

One of the largest supermarket chains in the Netherlands, Albert Hain, has announced that its stores will in the future introduce more waste-free packaging stations for certain products, including pasta, tea and muesli.

Dutch supermarkets are working to reduce plastic packaging

With more and more waste-free supermarkets in the Netherlands, demand for sustainable shopping alternatives is growing, and major Dutch supermarkets are also looking for what they can do to provide cleaner shopping opportunities for customers.

Albert Hane already has several waste-free stations for some of its own-brand foods, such as хагельшлакbut this week the supermarket announced it would introduce more waste-free options for other products.

Initiative, voice AH Verpakkingsvrij (“AH Packaging-Free”) was designed to allow customers to “make a significant portion of their daily purchases more environmentally friendly.” This is the last step in the plan of the supermarket to use 20 million kilograms of packaging material by 2025.

Image via Albert Heine.

Buying without waste in supermarkets in the Netherlands

Customers will be able to bring home their own reusable bags and jars and replenish them when making weekly purchases. Waste-free options will be available for a variety of products, “from breakfast cereals and spreads to dinner ingredients such as pasta and rice,” and about 80 percent of the unpackaged range will consist of organic products.

These AH Verpakkingsvrij Stations will be tested at Albert Heijn XL across the country, starting in Rotterdam and then set up in Amsterdam and Leidschend. Over the next year, the supermarket chain aims to create unpacked items in more than 50 stores.

“Making the best food available to everyone is what we stand for at Albert Heijn,” said CEO Marit van Egmand. “The current thing in this concept is that customers can from time to time just pack the products into their own reusable containers. You can also capture just the right amount – so together we provide less waste. ”