Italian supermarkets are generally very, very good. Produce is usually always very fresh, and locally grown – great for the carbon footprint – and often loose, so you can avoid the plastic overload. Fish, meats and cheese are often sold in the same way – loose, unpackaged and by the weight. Same with breads and pastas. Wine buying is a great experience too – as well as superb wines being a fraction of the price that you pay in the UK, they are also largely local to the area that the supermarket is in, meaning you can really get to know the wines and reduce your carbon footprint. So, mostly all good in Italian supermarkets (certainly the ones we visit) and plenty of options ditch the plastic.
Mostly. I say *mostly*, because come times like Easter, they go nuts. Utterly bonkers. As evidenced yesterday…
So, the Pasqua displays just completely blew all of the other good stuff going on, in-store, out of the park. Huge chocolate eggs, wrapped in layers of foil upon foil upon foil and smothered in bows. Plastic trays to displays chocolate bunnies and squirrels, wrapped in foil. These displays were piled high, in all of the food aisles – and were being added to, as we walked around. Huge forklift trollies were manoeuvering more into place as we shopped. This particular supermarket is in a small suburb of Trieste, just over the Slovenian border, so not a massive destination shop. I cannot imagine how they will shift all of this confectionary. However – and this is a massive positive – I do genuinely believe that anyone who buys these from Slovenia, will responsibly dispose of the packaging. Although by no means perfect, Slovenia in general, has a very commendable attitude towards recycling and it is quite tightly regulated.
But, I’ve never seen anything quite on this scale. I did think UK supermarkets went a bit made and embraced seasonal opportunities, but nothing like this! And, if you don’t believe, this was displayed in the entrance to the supermarket. Almost as tall as me, and a bargain at just 356 euros…
