AN INNOVATIVE scheme to tackle food waste has been implemented by a business.

Top Barn Harvest Shop based in Holt Heath, Worcester, has installed refill stations to help the environment by reducing the amount of packaging used.

Michael Harper, the shop’s manager, said: “After recent programmes on television highlighting the plight of plastic waste, shipped to other countries and dumped instead of being recycled as intended, washing into seas and ending up on beaches or worse eaten by fish or birds, we though what we could do to help minimise plastics through our shop.”

The shop started off its eco-friendly ways by offering customers the option of putting meat and deli products straight into their own tubs and containers having the weight scales in the shop.

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After this method proved a success, they invested specialised equipment to allow customers to tare [the container's empty weight taken away from the filled weight] and weigh it themselves to bring in tubs for their rice, pasta, popcorn as well as other food items.

Currently, there are 11 items sold in this way but more are planned.

Mr Harper added: “ Our most recent step has been our milk refill where we offer a station where customers can buy a glass bottle and refill when ever they want to eliminate the use of plastic milk bottles.