Ontario’s first zero waste grocery store has arrived and it is located in Ottawa’s Hintonburg area.
Nu Grocery Store offers products in bulk that can be purchased in reusable containers. If a consumer does not bring their own container, a glass jar is available for rent or purchase at the store.
“As a society, we produce mountains of waste and the sad news is that most of it actually preventable,” said owner, Valerie Leloup.
On the Nu website, Leloup said “the average Canadian produces more than 700kg of waste per year, one of the highest rates among developed countries. Many of us recycle and compost, but the majority of our waste still ends up in a landfill.”
For these reasons Leloup and business partner Sia Veeramani launched Nu on Wellingston St., where items do not come in wasteful packaging.
“So we have everything in bulk or on tap if it’s for liquids, and we have everything you have in a regular grocery store,” Veeramani said.
The grand opening of Nu was held Saturday.