We've made our ordering as straight forward as possible. You don't need to sign up for an account until you are ready to place your order, so feel free to browse to your plastic free heart's content! Once you've put your order together, create an account and click on your cart to input your postal code, select your delivery date and place your order.
Orders need to be placed by 10 PM two days before your scheduled delivery date.
We are able to offer plastic free groceries by working with an amazing group of local suppliers who have already moved to plastic free options or are doing so for us (local businesses are amazing!).
Bulk Items (products you would find available at a bulk store):
Any product that has a deposit on it is packed in glass jars that are returned directly to us to be washed, sanitized and reused.
Deli, Cheese, Meat and Seafood:
These products are packed in non-waxed compostable/ recyclable kraft butcher wrap. Because this wrap is wax free they items can dry out faster than they normally would so we recommend moving them to a glass or stainless steel container once you've received your order. Once your food is stored in a container, if your paper wrap is dry it can be recycled. If it is wet or has any residue, just pop it in your compost bin!
Glass or BPA-free Can Packaged Items (juices, pickles, sustainable canned seafood, etc):
Due to limitations in the supply chain or health and safety concerns, some products we have available are sent out in cans or packaged jars which need to be recycled in your blue bin. We try and avoid this as much as possible as reusing is always best. If you know of a supplier that would be willing to work with us for reusable packaging on any of these items, send us a message at info@zerocery.ca. We want as much input from our customers as possible and if there's a reusable packaging product we don't carry, it's probably because we don't know about it!
I get it, you've got a straightforward question and just want it answered!
Zerocery currently delivers to Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Hamilton and Guelph as well as smaller municipalities in between. If we don't deliver to your area and you'd be interested in our service, send a quick email to info@zerocery.ca and we'll let you know what we can do!
Check our map and click on your area to see eligibility and delvery date(s).
The online order cutoff is 10 PM two days before your scheduled delivery date. So if we deliver to your neighbourhood on a Tuesday, place your order by 10 PM on Sunday! Your first order includes a one-time $10 refundable deposit for the insulated totes and packaging your delivery is sent in.
Your order is sent out to you in our insulated totes with freezer packs to keep any produce and refrigerated items cold. Any meat and fish is sent out frozen and packed within a smaller insulated bag inside your tote to ensure an optimal temperature until you get home. Orders are delivered between 1 PM and 8 PM on the date of your scheduled delivery.
Once the order is dropped off, you will receive a text message indicating where it was left. We always look for the most shaded and hidden area on porches or beside doors. If you live in a building, we require a concierge to receive the order, or to have a door code to access the building.
All of our totes, freezer packs, freezer bags and jars are returnable and reusable. Simply leave them outside and we will pick them up when we drop off your next delivery!
Once you receive your order, you can contact us with any concerns or questions by emailing info@zerocery.ca.
We've already had quite a bit of interest from all over Ontario for our service. We would love to be able to deliver to everyone in Ontario eventually, but we want to do that the right way, and stay true to our values.
We aim to work with suppliers within the community and when we stretch too far past our delivery area, we risk losing that element of community. In order to service other areas right away, we would be driving long distances, increasing the financial and environmental cost of delivery. Our personal delivery service is also what allows us to be as zero waste as possible. Many of our competitors send their deliveries out with courier services, which means increased single use packaging and waste.
So the long answer is: Soon!
Send an email to info@zerocery.ca if you have hopes of deliveries going to your area.
We aim to source packaging and plastic free in every possible category and we are well on our way to doing so. That being said, there are a few items we are still currently having trouble sourcing completely zero waste including crackers, chips, sour cream and many plant based alternatives. We're already working with out suppliers to try and find alternatives to these, but until we can find a source we won't be offering these for sale. We have made an exception for plant based proteins brands such as Montreal-based Gusta. They have done a fantastic job reducing packaging and, as plant based alternatives reduce waste in so many other ways, we want to include these options.
One of the most important goals that Zerocery aims to achieve is to support and help grow other fantastic local businesses focusing or willing to focus on reducing packaging and plastics. We keep as small of a packing space as possible and work with local suppliers already doing a fantastic job in each of our categories. We optimize our delivery route to reduce our emissions as much as possible and offer delivery between our suppliers to help cut down on their own time and delivery costs. Many of our suppliers already purchase from one another for specific items and we aim to be a bridge to make that system more cost effective, simple and as waste free as possible.
Your first delivery has a one time $10 deposit to help us cover the cost of our totes and freezer packs. The actual cost on these items is higher than the $10 deposit, however we want to keep this as easy and affordable as possible. On your next delivery day, you simply leave your tote outside your door along with any freezer packs and jars for pick up. The $10 deposit is only on your first order.
If you ever decide that Zerocery isn't your thing, just let us know and we will ask you to leave the totes, freezer packs and any jars out for pick up on our next scheduled delivery day for your area. Your $10 deposit will be refunded to you within 10 days of pick up.
In order to avoid plastic packaging, we deliver many of our items in reusable and returnable glass jars with a $1 deposit. You can keep the jar as long as it takes to use up your supplies. When you're done, simply put any empty jars in your Zerocery totes outside your door for pick up on the next delivery.
