25 signatures reached
To: UK Supermarkets
End of "FILM - PLASTIC Not currently recycled" labels
To banish all production of plastic packaging that CAN NOT be recycled
Why is this important?
For many years now local councils have actively promoted households to recycle as much packaging as possible but the amount of plastic packaging that is not currently recycled is unacceptable.
How many times have you gone to recycle plastic packaging? only to find that it is not currently recycled. As consumers, we should be able to purchase goods knowing that the packaging they come supplied with can be recycled at a later date.
For one week I collected all the plastic packaging that had 'currently not recycled' written on it and was shocked at how much plastic packaging this amounted to. The alternative would be to avoid purchasing the plastic packaging but realistically this is not always an option as the product may only be supplied in that packaging.
In the Netherlands, Ekoplaza supermarkets have introduced Europe’s first plastic-free supermarket aisle. "For decades shoppers have been sold the lie that we can’t live without plastic in food and drink... Finally we can see a future where the public have a choice about whether to buy plastic or plastic-free. Right now we have no choice.” (The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/28/worlds-first-plastic-free-aisle-opens-in-netherlands-supermarket).
The Guardian’s investigation into supermarkets’ plastic footprint found that leading UK stores create more than 800,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste every year. However Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Asda and Lidl all refused to divulge their plastic output, with most saying the information was “commercially sensitive”. (The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/28/worlds-first-plastic-free-aisle-opens-in-netherlands-supermarket).
Call on supermarkets across the UK to follow Ekoplaza’s example without delay.
