Produce Bags for Plastic Free Fruit and Veg

My local supermarket is Aldi and it is where we have always done our shopping.  However, faced with Plastic Free January we had to rethink, as they offer very few options for plastic free, particularly on their fruit and vegetables.  Where we could, we still bought at Aldi (the list is not extensive): butternut squash, red peppers, bananas, pineapples, melons and sweet potatoes.  For the rest of what I needed, I went to other supermarkets and took the opportunity to enter into our local market hall.  I had passed it so many times but never bought anything from the fruit and veg stall, until now.

In preparation I had bought some reusable produce bags to use instead of the mini plastic bags offered in the shops.  They are fantastic.  They come in different sizes and are see-through so the shop can see what you have put in them.

The market is not always convenient.  While I enjoyed "shopping local" and supporting a local business, this was not the goal of the month.  The goal was Plastic Free January.  I have been around a few bigger supermarkets to see what they offer (the mini supermarkets on the high street do not have the best selection of plastic free.)  I had walked around Waitrose (closest supermarket to my work) at lunch on many occasions, but never noticed they offered a choice on products with or without packaging.  In fact, before January, I would have been sure to have picked up the convenient bag of fruit or veg.  I now carry my mini reusable bags with me at lunch and use them to do my shopping.  The costings vary, mostly they are the same, but sometimes its cheaper when purchased loose.  The added bonus is you get to buy what you need, rather than what the convenient plastic bag dictates you take.

We will not be buying any blue berries or strawberries until the summer as they are just impossible to find not in plastic punnets or cucumbers, but other than that the choice is not too bad.