A call to make bulk bin goods more affordable has come from 13-year-old Fair Go consumer hero Manvi Sharma.
Manvi was on a picnic with her family when she noticed that all the nuts they were eating were out of packets rather than from bulk bins. She asked her Dad why he'd bought the packet nuts, given this meant extra plastic waste for landfill, and he replied that they were cheaper than the nuts in bulk bins at the supermarket.
This didn't make sense to Manvi who'd been studying recycling and plastic waste at her school, Fergusson Intermediate in Upper Hutt.
She did some research for the online prices of cashews, pistachios and almonds from bulk bins and in packets at three supermarkets.
At New World, it was a few cents cheaper to buy 100g of bulk bin almonds and cashews, but it was $1.44 more expensive to buy 100g of bulk bin pistachios compared with packet ones. For both Pak'n'Save and Countdown, all bulk bin prices were more expensive than packets for all three types of nuts.
With Fair Go's help, Manvi made contact with Foodstuffs, that owns Pak'n'Save and New World, and with Countdown.
She was disappointed that Foodstuffs wouldn't engage but simply sent a statement. Emma Wooster, corporate affairs manager, explained that the price of bulk bin goods was affected by special offers, the quality and origin of the product, and the volume bought. This last factor is affected by the product's popularity and as more people buy nuts in packets, the price can be kept down.
Manvi believes it's important to change behaviour and provide incentives. She was disappointed that Foodstuffs offered no solutions.
She had better luck with Countdown. Their head of produce Grant Robinson agreed to discuss the issue. His explanation for the increased price of bulk bin nuts is that it takes more time and effort to clean the bins and rotate the product whereas packet nuts are simple to stack on shelves and have a longer product life.
While Manvi appreciated what he was saying, she still felt that it was important to take a stand and change behaviour. She pointed out that no-one thought it would be possible to eradicate the use of plastic bags, but it's been a great success.
She asked him what Countdown could do to help consumers make better choices. In her opinion buying bulk goods in reusable containers or bags is the way forward.
Grant Robinson said Countdown "would love to sell more bulk foods" and that the "key is extending the range and reviewing price points to make sure it's competitive in bulk foods". He added that he would definitely take her comments into consideration and see what options there are going forward.
Manvi is happy to at least raise awareness and plans to check on progress in a year's time.
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