We are continually trying to reduce waste and cut down on plastic at Fine Fruits. We still have a way to go, but over 80% of our fresh produce is loose with no packaging or paper packaging – the remaining 20% is for leafy salad items, berries and some spring greens. We are sure that over the coming years we will reduce this even further.

Bags

Our printed paper bags are very strong and many of our customers reuse these whenever they visit the shop – this is great as it saves on unnecessary costs whilst cutting down on waste. The majority of our customers now bring their own bags; we do have cotton and jute bags available to buy in store too. If required we also have a variety of boxes, which we can pack customers shopping in. We will carry these out to the car for you – just ask one of our team members.

Boxes

Our online deliveries are packed carefully in either a reused cardboard box or one of our printed boxes. We ask customers to leave these out when expecting your next order so that we can reuse them. Boxes will go on and on if handled with care. Unfortunately, we do still receive some produce in plastic crates and our customers often take these to carry plants home or for allotments etc as they are great for storage. Just ask if you would like any and we can save them for you.

Food

All our food waste is saved for Holmwood Farm in Barnston. The pigs and other animals love the slightly past its best food and cauliflower leaves. The farm collect the food daily from the shop and take it straight to the pigs and other animals just down the road.

Milk & Fresh Orange Bottles

If you have milk bottles or fresh juice bottles, please leave out for one of our drivers and they will collect from you. Or pop them into the shop; we return the bottles back to Bates Dairy each day.

Zero Waste

Our zero waste area means that you can purchase exactly what you need rather than large bags of rice, pasta and pulses etc. We have paper bags that can be used or feel free to bring your own containers to fill. If you ask, we can show you how to use the scales and print your price sticker. The zero waste items are all available online too in as little as 100g amounts – these will be delivered in paper bags for you.

What next?

We are continually looking at what we can do next to reduce our use of plastic, whilst adhering to new laws etc (for e.g. allergen labelling). Keep an eye out for cardboard punnets to protect delicate fruit, which are increasingly being used by a variety of growers…