To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Asda Opens Brand New Sustainability Store With Refill Stations

Asda Opens Brand New Sustainability Store With Refill Stations

The supermarket chain is hoping shoppers will cut down on their plastic use

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

Asda has opened its first sustainable store, flogging essentials such as pasta, cereal and teabags via refillable containers.

The new trial outlet, in Middleton in Leeds, also offers loose and unwrapped produce as well as paper wrapping in an attempt to cut plastic use.

Asda

Shoppers will be able to fill up their own reusable containers with brands including Kellogg's, Quaker Oats, PG Tips and Vimto, while Heinz and Asda's own brand tinned items will be sold without outer plastic packaging.

There will also be refillable toiletries and cleaning products, such as shampoo, hand-wash and laundry detergent - with brands including Radox, Persil and Simple on board.

Asda hopes the store will encourage shoppers to 'reduce, reuse and recycle' and save an estimated one million pieces of plastic from being used each year.

More than 50 fresh produce items will be for sale loose without packaging, while its fresh flowers will also be sold in paper wrapping.

Alongside the new store, Asda has committed to a Greener at Asda Price promise, which means customers won't be charged more for unwrapped and loose fruit and vegetables compared to their plastic-wrapped counterparts.

As well as offering plastic-free options, the store features recycling points for things that are usually a bit more difficult to recycle, such as cosmetics packaging, crisp packets and empty toothpaste tubes.

Asda

The new store will also be partnering up with various charities via its 'community zone' - the first of which is a three-month partnership with the Salvation Army, with a 'drop and shop' area for customers to donate clothing or other unwanted items to the charity.

Parts of the store that prove a hit with customers could be rolled out to further Asda supermarkets next year.

Asda has vowed to produce zero carbon emissions by 2040 and has also pledged it would cut waste by half.

Roger Burnley, the chief executive of Asda, said in a statement: "Today marks an important milestone in our journey as we tackle plastic pollution and help our customers to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Asda

"We have always known that we couldn't go on this journey alone, so it is fantastic to work in tandem with more than 20 of our partners and suppliers who have answered the call to test innovative sustainable solutions with us."

Hailing the new store as a step in the right direction, Nina Schrank, lead plastics campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: "Asda's new sustainability store reflects what people are looking for - the opportunity to go plastic free.

"By offering innovative refill stations, loose fruit and vegetables and plenty of sustainably sourced household goods, they have bought what used to be a niche shopping experience into the mainstream, all under one roof.

"We hope that this store is the first of many; we need to see so much more of this from across the supermarket sector. UK consumers want to ditch plastic.

"The supermarket sector needs to listen to its customers and shift to plastic free groceries and reuse and refill options both in-store and throughout their online delivery operations."

Featured Image Credit: Asda

Topics: Food, UK News, plastic pollution, Asda