I have a vision for a model of grocery store that would buy food in bulk and package on-site into packaging which is 100% reusable or truly compostable (unlike many types of so-called "compostable plastics" which require specific conditions to truly break down). Customers would receive a hefty deposit when they return the packaging, and the store would wash and re-use on site.
I've been thinking through how each of the items I regularly purchase at the grocery store could be packaged to fit this model, and a few things have me stuck. The first is cheese.
What sort of packaging could be used for cheese, that meets requirements for safety and storage, but could be readily and repeatedly re-used? What sort of complications would this introduce?
The first thing that comes to mind is wax, however I wonder about issues of individually wrapped cheeses sticking together, and the fact that most wax is made from petroleum. Also it seems that expensive equipment would be needed to melt the returned was pieces and reuse them for new blocks of cheese.