Daniel Zeichner MP cut the recycled ribbon at the official opening of the Full Circle market stall on Friday 11th October at Cambridge Market.

The stall is the brainchild of a trio of scientists: Emma an ecologist, Johanna a bioinformatician, and Paul an engineer who decided they needed to take action to tackle the climate emergency and so are opening a zero-waste market stall.

With a focus on organic and vegan produce, they will serve eco-concerned customers who have brought their own containers to buy the stall’s tasty products including cornflakes, muesli, kidney beans, rice, nuts and raisins.

The scientists will also provide workshops and talks to offer solutions and information to cut packaging based on the latest academic research.

They explained to the MP how they want to encourage community action and drive new legislation.

Figures show a quarter of all domestic waste is packaging, which can be difficult or sometimes impossible to recycle.

Mr Zeichner, who led a debate on how to cut down on food packaging in response to a petition signed by 200,000 people, said: “I’ve got my reusable container at the ready to buy some fantastic food. I know from the hundreds of letters and emails I get on this subject that people are up for “naked food” and ready to make real changes in their lives to help cut down on waste and save the planet. Well done to Emma and her team for getting this fantastic venture off the ground. I am delighted to officially open the stall and look forward to coming back to buy again.”

Emma Thomas, Director, Full Circle Retail Ltd said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be celebrating the launch of our zero waste business Full Circle™ in the heart of our beautiful city on Cambridge Market. At a time when so many are fighting for environmental action and with zero waste retailers opening all over the UK we thought it was time for Cambridge to have a completely zero waste destination of its own. With the help of the Cambridge community through CrowdFunding we have now launched our food range where packaging-free, sustainably sourced, UK and locally grown produce are top of the menu. The support has been incredibly positive and we are grateful to Daniel Zeichner MP for championing the plastic-free movement and agreeing to kick start our official opening celebrations.”