Here at The Optimist Daily, we are big supporters of the zero-waste movement and we’re always happy to share with you the initiatives that are driving it. One of the latest that we’ve come across is Bay Area startup Zero Grocery.
If you order groceries on their platform, they come in reusable packaging that the company later collects from you, leaving no plastic waste behind. Common brands, such as Honey Bunches of Oats cereal or Kettle potato chips, come in glass jars. So does baby spinach, milk, and yogurt.
The process is simple: Once you have finished the food contents, you leave the containers outside your door for a delivery person to pick up when the next order arrives.
“I wanted to make it easier for as many everyday, hardworking Americans as possible to adopt a plastic-free lifestyle,” says Zero Grocery founder Zuleyka Strasner. Virtually all of the 1,110-plus items available on its platform come in reusable packaging, with the exception of meat and fish products which come in compostable wrappers.
As part of the service, customers pay $25 for a monthly membership, which includes unlimited free deliveries and avoids the need to charge deposits on the reusable containers.
With consumers increasingly shifting towards more sustainable lifestyles it’s great to see such initiatives pop up in greater numbers. In Brooklyn, the startup Wally Shop also offers zero-waste delivery. And you might already be familiar with Loop, the milkman-style platform that partners with big brands to offer their products in reusable packaging.
