Albert Heijn announces customers can buy food with their own refillable jars

The Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn recently announced customers can soon buy certain products without packaging thanks to a new upcoming concept: AH Packaging Free. ♻️

With this new shopping system in place, customers can walk in with their own reusable bags or jars and fill them from a dispenser, reports NU

Albert Heijn also explains that the prices of these items will be cheaper because customers won’t be paying for the product’s packaging costs anymore. ✨

And which products are soon-to-be packaging-free at Albert Heijn? We’re talking:

  • Pasta 🍝
  • Rice 🍚
  • Cereal 🥣
  • Spreads 🧈
  • Tea 🍵
  • Nuts 🌰

This new shopping system will first be offered at the XL supermarket in Rotterdam and will then be integrated by the remaining 50 larger AH branches, reports NU.

How will this work? 

It’s quite easy! Customers must first weigh their reusable bag or jar before filling them with the products from the dispenser. 

Once that’s done, they print a barcode that shows how much they’ve purchased. At the end of the shopping session, customers simply have to scan their barcodes at the register. Voilà! 

Sustainable shoppers are going to be very happy! Customers can now take reusable bags from their own household — meaning less packaging waste. 

This will also help reduce food waste since customers can now fill their bags with the exact amount of food they actually need — 500 grams of hagelslag please! 

What do you think about this new shopping system? Tell us in the comments! 

Feature Image:Depositphotos
Lea Shamaa 🇺🇸🇱🇧
Lea Shamaa 🇺🇸🇱🇧
Lea has a passion for writing and sharing new ideas with the world. She enjoys film photography, Wes Anderson movies, fictional books and jazz music. She came to the Netherlands in 2019 for her media studies and has fallen in love with the country and its culture ever since. She loves to ride her bicycle in the city but also feels the need to overtake everyone on the bike lane (she's working on it).

3 COMMENTS

    • I guess you don’t mind people coughing and sneezing on your produce. Watermelons and bananas fine, but I don’t want some little kid with a runny nose picking over the grapes.

  1. I was hoping supermarkets do this as it will help environmentally. Glad to know that AH is doing this.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related posts

Latest posts

Best Black Friday deals in the Netherlands 2024

Looking to score some Black Friday bargains in the Netherlands in ? We’ve rounded up the top deals that will save you some cash.  Black...

Christmas in the Netherlands: the merriest bits

Coming from Australia, Christmas in the Netherlands is definitely different. I'm used to a hot summer day, often spending most of Christmas trying every...

Christmas in the Netherlands: your guide to Dutch holiday foods and celebrations

For expats in the Netherlands, December is a confusing time. Saint Nicolas, who? What about the Christmas Man (kerstman)? Does Christmas fall on...

It's happening

Upcoming events