The country’s first permanent zero-waste grocery store has opened on Salt Spring Island.
Green, which was created by Crystle Lehky, opened to customers in June.
Eggs come in reusable baskets, dairy products are packaged in glass jars and all the produce is locally sourced. And, according to Lehky, it all comes at a price that is comparable to more traditional grocery stores.
“The concept of the store is zero-waste,” Lehky said. “You can come and shop here. You don’t have to read the labels. You don’t have to worry about the packaging. You can buy anything. It’s all good for you.”
Lehky was inspired to open the shop after watching a documentary about the millions of tonnes of plastic dumped into the ocean each year.
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After months of work sourcing products manufactured in Canada and getting suppliers to sign on, Green opened its doors.
While there have been a few pop-up zero-waste grocery stores, Green became Canada’s first permanent plastic-and-packaging-free grocer in June.
“It’s a movement that the planet will appreciate, not just us,” Carlos Gomes of the Vancouver Food Tour said. “But it’s a challenge. Right now, that movement that we talk about is at the community level.”
With its farming community and environmental consciousness, Lehky said Salt Spring Island seems like the perfect place to set up shop.
“They’ve been dreaming of something like this opening in their community for a long time,” Lehky said.
– With files from Kylie Stanton
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