New grocery store in Edmundston, N.B. opens with zero waste policy
Customers take own containers to fill with bulk produce and goods
A new grocery store in northern New Brunswick has become what may be the province's first zero waste retail food operation.
At Terraterre, located in the Saint-Jacques area of Edmundston, products are sold in bulk and customers take their own containers, such as mason jars, to fill at the store.
Owner Manon Whittom believes the store is the first of its kind in the province. Terraterre sells mostly organic products that are local or Canadian.
She modelled Terraterre on another store called Loco, which opened in Montreal in 2016.
Terraterre has been open for two months and Whittom said the response from customers has been great.
"I have a lot of customers who return and bring their own containers all the time and they're very happy about it," Whittom said.
Her passion about preserving and protecting the environment led her to open the store.
"The planet is very important for me and I know packaging is a huge environmental problem," Whittom said.
She hopes more people will come to stores like Terraterre and that other stores will adopt zero waste policies.