Zero waste shopping in Vienna
The top Zero waste shop in Vienna is the Lunzers Maß-Greißlerei.
This is what I bought at Lunzers Maß-Greißlerei. A yogurt, some sweet potatoes, and a bag of rice. The jar of the yogurt can be brought back to the shop and you receive a refund of arround €0.15.
But what if you don't live close to the shop and you still want to go zero waste shopping?
There are a few alternatives:
Hofer, Lidl, (sometimes) Merkur and SPAR,offer bread rolls or
bread without packaging and barcode stickers. Some of these shops have a wider variety of unpacked baked goods than others. However, Billa, sometimes Merkur, and some branches of SPAR (e.g. INTERSPAR) give you the bread only in a paper bag and put a sticker with the bar code on it.
There are also other products that are available at normal supermarkets which are actually zero waste.
This is an example: a dish scrubber which is made of 100% plant fiber.
I found this brush at SPAR, they probably have more products than just this brush. Just explore your local SPAR, or other supermarkets. You never know what you can find there!
Fruit and vegetables: There are several shops that offer fruits and vegetables without packaging. Hofer and Lidl are usually have fruits and veggies in packaging, but there are some exceptions. SPAR, Billa and Merkur have also fruits and vegetables without packaging on offer. However, there are still fruits and veggies which are packed, e.g. I couldn't find any carrots or onions without packaging at Merkur.
Yoghurt: You can buy yogurt in bulk if you don't have time to go to the zero waste shop.
Landliebe is a brand, which sell their yogurts in bulk. The only disadvantage with this alternative is that the yoghurt glass cannot be returned. At the Zerowaste shop it can be given back, which will be reused.
The best solution though would be, if you made your yoghurt yourself. :P Just kidding. You can try it, if you feel creative, but don't feel pressured.
#1 attempt shopping at a non zero waste shop (Merkur):
I bought bacon, potatoes, apples and bread in my own packaging. Not all of them were completely waste free. For the apples, bacon, and potatoes I needed a sticker with the bar code on it. I bought the bread and bread rolls, in the bag I made specially for baked goods. Click here to see the tutorial.
On the right you can see the bacon I bought in a jar.
Looking at what the products came in, they were not completely waste free, for example the apples.
As you can see on the left the apples come in packaging :(. They come in a carton box and with a plastic sheet.
There was also a second option. Buying the apples in a bag (picture on the right), which can be reused.
This option is not the greenest option either. The bag is still made of plastic, and as Bea Johnson said, by buying something in packaging means that you think that packaging is great and you want more of it.
Merkur also offers this bag, which is supposed to be sustainable.
The label says:
"I take responsibility for the environment.
Now you can do something good for the environment when you go shopping for vegetables and fruits, with the new eco-friendly bio bag:
Contains renewable resources
Biodegradable according to EN 13432
Compostable
Suitable for collecting organic waste
Made in Europe
Breathable- Bread, Fruits and Veggies stay fresh for longer."
I personally think this is still plastic and is still waste. Shops are trying to fool the customers by saying that their packaging and products are sustainable, but actually they are just as wasteful as other packaging.
At shops they also offer a pack of vegetables, which is called 'Suppengruen' which is translated to vegetabels for soup. This is probably one of the most zero waste products in the vegetable and fruit section.
I personally think it is important to find zero waste alternatives in normal supermarkets, because there might be no zero waste shops close by or they are expensive. If the shops see that the amount of packaging used by customers sink they might offer more sustainable and zero waste products.
Comments