You can buy beans in a number of ways.
Dried loose or ready packed
Tins
Glass Jars
Lentils and pulses Are usually sold dried, loose or ready packed.
Loose
Dried beans can be bought loose
As befits a hippy supermarket Whole Food Markets do a good range.
Scoop and save shops Usually do red lentils and a limited range of beans.
Check out the loose food index for more loose food shops.
Loose Food A to Z
Find out if a shop near you sells bulk food loose. This is stuff that that normally comes plastic packaged ie rice, pasta and salt. And yes these shops do exist in the U.K. There’s just not many of them.
Heres alist of towns with shops selling loose food.
While these shops provide bags and they are almost always plastic ones. You will need to take your own plastic-free /reusable bags.
Online
Did you now you can get homegrown British beans, lentils (soon) and even Quinoa. Many of them organically grown….Introducing Hodmedod’s
“Using recyclable packaging is something we feel very strongly about and we are avoiding plastic where we can. We are aiming for all plastic-free packaging.
So far all our 500g packs of dried pulses and grains are packed in compostable plant based cellophane.”
They sell beans, grains and pulses. See the full list HERE
Buying Plastic Wrapped
But if none of these work for you try to buy products that are wrapped in polythene rather than film as this is an easily recycled plastic unlike film which is not. More details here.
Internet store Goodness can supply you with a whole load of beans and other dried stuff in polythene bags. Please note, many of the companies featured on their website DO sell stuff in film BUT the 3kg bulk buy bags in the Goodness range, (their own range), always come in polythene bags.
At least that has been my experience but you should double check..
Their onward packaging is all recyclable or biodegradable.
Goodness Range ( that I have bought – there are lots more
- Kidney Beans
- Black Eye
- Lentils Yellow
- Lentils Green
Tins
Many places sell tins of ready cooked beans.
Glass
You can find beans and chickpeas in glass jars in some Asian shops and polish delis.