Stroud farmers' market news with Gerb Gerbrands.

Quite a few bits of packaging news this week as various stallholders try to find ways around the plastic bag/packaging issues.

Paget’s Produce now have compostable carriers, a significant increase in price per bag from the bio-degradable ones they had previously, and Sandra is also a bit concerned that they will carry enough weight, the compostable bags tend to stretch.

Hotch Potch have also started bringing their mixed salad leaves in compostable bags - the issue for them being they are not see through and not surprisingly, this has had a negative impact on sales.

Over at Styan’s Produce they are doing five kilos of potatoes in Hessian sacks on which get you 50p back when you return the empty sack. Similarly, at Days Cottage, their plastic litre bottles of draught cider and unpasteurised apple juice now carry a 50p off when you come back with the clean bottle for a refill.

Cotswold Puddings are making fruit crumbles this week, spiced plum and rhubarb crumbles alongside their usual range and these will be served in recyclable cardboard packaging too, whilst soft fruit from Daisy’s Farm and Styan’s will be in cardboard pulp punnets as usual.

Forest Mushrooms re-use plastic punnets, using them to measure and display the produce which is put in paper bags when purchased so the punnet goes back to the farm for re-use. Finally, melons from Daisy’s Farm will include watermelons and Kazakh melons - no packaging required!