The issue of excessive waste is pervasive throughout our entire food system. Be it food left on your dinner plate that gets trucked off to a landfill, or through the needless throw-away packaging used to individually wrap products at any grocery store.

The model behind Scoop Marketplace is one that aims to cut waste out of the picture entirely.

Scoop is a grocery store that sells everything in bulk and allows customers to use their own reusable containers to reduce the amount of plastics and waste that would otherwise just be put in the trash after a single use.

“This is not a new idea,” said Scoop Marketplace’s founder Stephanie Lentz as she compared this type of grocery store to what they would have had in pre-industrial eras.

Scoop Marketplace now has two locations. One at 9743 NE 119th Way in Kirkland, and another at 826 South 3rd Street in Renton. They sell spices, herbs, home goods and toiletries, all in bulk.

Lentz said customers can bring their own reusable containers or they can buy some of the glass jars that are available.

She said another aspect of waste reduction comes through the way in which customers can purchase only what they need for a specific recipe or for limited use, instead of buying an unrealistically large quantity that many modern grocery stores would sell.

Lentz said she hopes Scoop Marketplace allows people to feel empowered to make eco-friendly habit changes in their life “without sacrificing the convenience and comfort of their daily lives.”

She also works as a coach and consultant helping other entrepreneurs open similar zero-waste model stores.

Lentz wants to make it more “accessible” for those willing to change the food system and economy for the better to do so.

“This doesn’t have to be hard,” she said.