Supermarket in Amsterdam includes plastic-packaging-free aisle

A supermarket in Amsterdam includes an aisle that does not have any plastic packaging.

Ekoplaza, which opened Wednesday, says it is the first of its kind to feature such an aisle.

The more than 700 grocery items in the aisle are packaged in glass, metal and cardboard containers, according to The Washington Post. It also includes packaging made from materials that can be composted.

The aisle includes items such as meat, rice, sauces, milk, yogurt and chocolate.

If you are doing #PlasticFreeFebruary #PlasticFreeLent #PlasticFreeFriday you want to spend a weekend in #Amsterdam where there is a #PlasticFreeAisle at @ekoplaza Drive your #ElectricVehicle there and fill up. By end of 2018 there will be 74 to choose from!! #Benelux #Beneluck pic.twitter.com/dNRqpNqDvx

— A Plastic Planet (@aplastic_planet) February 28, 2018

The supermarket is pledging that all of its 74 stores will include an aisle without plastic packaging by the end of the year. 

“Plastic-free aisles are an important steppingstone to a brighter future for food and drink,” said Ekoplaza’s chief executive, Erik Does, in a statement.

The co-founder of A Plastic Planet, an environmental group, said in a statement there is “no logic in wrapping something as fleeting as food in something as indestructible as plastic.”

“Plastic food and drink packaging remains useful for a matter of days yet remains a destructive presence on the earth for centuries afterwards,” Sian Sutherland said.

Sutherland added that shoppers have been “sold the lie” for decades that we can’t live without plastic containers for food and drinks.

“A plastic-free aisle dispels all that. Finally we can see a future where the public have a choice about whether to buy plastic or plastic free,” Sutherland said.