Canadian online grocery store SPUD.ca stops selling plastic water bottles

SPUD.ca, a Canadian grocery delivery company known for their sustainability initiatives, has removed all single-use plastic water bottles from their online grocery store in an effort to address plastic pollution

VANCOUVER, Sept. 19, 2019 /CNW/ - Based on a recent survey given to their customers, SPUD.ca CEO Peter van Stolk identified single-use plastic as the gravest environmental concern Canadians have for future generations.  Although the Canadian government released an action plan for reducing plastic pollution by 2021, van Stolk asked customers in an email that announced the ban: "Why wait to take action?" As a first step, SPUD.ca has discontinued the sale of all single-use plastic water bottles from their website. All still, sparkling, and flavoured water will now only be available in glass bottles and aluminum cans.

Van Stolk shared this insight along with the announcement of the ban: "We recognize that this ban is only a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to taking greater responsibility for the packaging we distribute, but we believe it is more important to start the process than it is to be perfect. At SPUD.ca, we want to exemplify to our community and to the industry that every step is important, and that although the journey to zero waste is long, together we can get there."

This ban comes just months after the company launched its Pink Bag Takeback program - an initiative that encourages SPUD.ca customers to return the packaging of Be Fresh products, the company's private label brand, into their grocery bins that are used to deliver customer's groceries on a weekly basis. These reusable grocery bins are then picked up by SPUD.ca's delivery fleet and the Be Fresh packaging is recycled through the company's partnership with Terracycle, a specialized recycling organization.

Van Stolk says that the company has many more sustainability initiatives being planned for the near future that are aimed to "reimagine packaging" and empower customers to "be part of the solution". With a delivery model based on a circular economy concept, van Stolk says that SPUD.ca is well aligned to improve recycling streams in the communities the company delivers to as well as to eliminate the amount of packaging entering waste streams altogether.

About SPUD

Founded in 1997 in Vancouver, Sustainable Produce Urban Delivery Inc. is a pioneer of grocery delivery in Canada.  With a mission of changing the world one bite at a time and passion for a sustainable food system, SPUD's goal is to use its connection to local and organic food to help improve the places where we live and work. From this vision, Be Fresh Local Market was proudly cultivated by SPUD, with the first store opening in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood in 2015. Be Fresh currently serves five local communities in Vancouver. In 2017, Blush Lane Organic Market joined the SPUD family supporting Edmonton and Calgary across five locations. SPUD is a leader in Western Canada's local and organic food movement. For more information, visit www.spud.ca

SOURCE Sustainable Produce Urban Delivery Ltd. (SPUD)

Media Contact: Arndrea Scott - 604-375-4896, [e-mail]