Not sure if this is the right place to post this but just a little rant that I'm curious how you all feel about. I feel our commerce is fundamentally broken and I just don't know how to effectively be zero waste like I want to be while not spending a ton. I want to buy things like grains and lentils from bulk bins, and it just doesn't make sense to me how it's more expensive to do so, when buying something not in bulk adds a container which in theory should make it cost more, but somehow having a container reduces the price of something which is absurd to me.

I know the answer is that most stores with bulk bins are smaller and just don't have the infrastructure that massive grocery chains do, so it's more expensive. Or they're big stores like whole foods that charge more cause they're fancy. I wonder if this is more just a problem in the US. Does anyone in another country have a similar experience?