The first zero-waste grocery store in Woodside opens this weekend

Seed + Oil by Suryaside is a new, zero-waste grocery store coming to Woodside, Queens.

Scheduled to open this upcoming weekend—Saturday, November 18—at 49-20 Skillman Avenue by 50th Street, it’s devoted to sustainable shopping and will be the first zero-waste, package-free grocery store in the neighborhood.

According to a press release, the average American goes through 110 pounds of single-use plastic annually.

"Through conscientious decision making, the co-owners believe they can help reduce that number and, more importantly, shift the culture around the way we purchase and consume goods to preserve the planet for future generations," reads the statement.

To drive their point home further, the owners hired staff locally, paying special attention to formerly incarcerated people, and will be offering a discount to shoppers residing in NYCHA housing "in an effort to balance out systemic inequities."

Once inside, customers will get to shop from a list of ethically sourced local suppliers, with a preference given to minority-owned and women-owned businesses. Clearly, the founders have made sustainability their mission.

Among the products on offer will be Nellie's Clean non-toxic and plant-friendly cleaning products, sustainable agriculture items grown, milled and stone ground in the Hudson Valley by Wild Hive Farm and hand-packed, small batch honey by Catskills Provisions. 

Also on site: a pretty cool machine serving Alkaline or reverse osmosis filtered water. Visitors are encouraged to bring along their containers to fill with the clean water at a discount.

Make sure to carry your reusable containers when visiting, so that you can properly fill them with a curated selection of non-perishable foods, body care products and home cleaning tools on sale at the store. It’ll be a pretty nifty shopping experience.