In April 2018 all the major UK supermarkets pledged to eradicate unnecessary single-use plastics by 2025. From reducing packaging, eliminating micro-beads in products, providing paper bags and allowing customers to bring their own containers – here are some of the things that the supermarkets are doing to reduce the harmful effects of plastic pollution.
You can now recycle stretchy plastic including sandwich bags, toilet paper wrap, multi baked bean wrap, frozen vegetable bags, cucumber wrap and most bread bags at larger Supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Co-op and Waitrose.
Tesco
Tesco is aiming to remove all difficult-to-recycle plastic packaging from its products by the end of 2019, including polystyrene pizza discs and PVC wrapping- By 2025, Tesco wants all its packaging to be recyclable or compostable and its total packaging weight to be halved compared to 2007
- It has removed all polystyrene from its fish packaging and claims that more than 78% of its packaging is recyclable (this depends on the type of material accepted by local authorities)
- They have replaced two layer plastic trays with single layer plastic
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s aim to reduce packaging by a half by 2020, compared to 2005- It has committed to remove all plastic cotton buds
- They recycle carrier bags
- They have reduced own brand-packaging by 33% since 2006
- They redesigned their two-pint milk bottles, saving 580 tonnes of plastic a year
Asda
Asda has reduced the weight of its packaging by 27% since 2007, partly by introducing “skin” packaging on some of its meat products- They have made their two-litre own-brand water bottles lighter
- Asda are going to change the polystyrene bases in their pizzas to cardboard
- They are going to switch to paper straws in their cafes
- They are going to phase out single use carrier bags from their stores by the end of 2018
Morrisons
Morrisons recycles its carrier bags and no longer sells 5p single-use carrier bags- They use “returnable bins” for fish products to reduce the use of poly boxes
- Morrisons claim to keep 95% of their store waste out of direct landfill
- They have banned microbeads in their own-brand cosmetic products
- Customers are allowed to use their own containers for meat and fish from the butcher and fishmonger counters
- Black plastic trays used for fresh meat and fish will be phased out by the end of 2019
- Water is freely available in its cafés for customers who want to refill their water bottles, and water fountains will be fitted to new stores
- They no longer buy plastic drinking straws or plastic cotton buds Since 2010, Morrisons has reduced the weight of packaging used across its Market Street counters by 50% (10,000 tonnes)
Aldi
Aldi is now a carbon-neutral business, and has cut its greenhouse gas emissions from its sales floors by 53% since 2012, through purchasing 100% green electricity and implementing a certified energy management system throughout its business.
- They aim to source all its pulp-based packaging from certified forests by 2020
- Aldi has seen a relative 11% reduction in packaging between 2012 to 2015
- Aldi have not sent any waste directly to landfill since 2014, and recycles 100% of its cardboard and plastic
Co-Op
Co-Op aims for 80% of its products to have “easily recyclable” packaging by 2020- They have replaced polystyrene pizza discs with cardboard
- Co-op uses single-plastic packaging for meat, poultry and fish products
- They support the idea of a deposit return scheme for bottles
- Their own-brand straws are paper not plastic
- They stock compostable carrier bags in selected stores in England and Scotland which can be used to carry shopping home and then used for food waste caddies and bins
Waitrose
Waitrose plan to make its own-label packaging widely recyclable, reusable or home compostable by 2025- They have reduced smoked salmon packaging by 50%
- Waitrose now has thinner prepared salad bags
- They charge for food to be delivered or collected in plastic bags
- Waitrose have switched to biodegradable cotton buds, saving around 21 tonnes of plastic
- In 2017 they introduced a new sandwich wrapper, the plastic and cardboard of which can be more easily separated for recycling than other packaging
- Waitrose do not sell any products containing microbeads
- Waitrose encourage the use of reusable cups by offering customers free tea or coffee
Lidl
Lidl is in the process of setting targets for plastic waste- In 2017 it removed microbeads from all its cosmetic and household products
- Lidl have committed to switching to biodegradable cotton buds
- They have charged for plastic carrier bags since 1994
- Lidl stopped selling single-use bags in 2017
Iceland
Iceland announced plans in January 2018 to eliminate or drastically reduce plastic packaging of all its own-label products by the end of 2023- They support the idea of a deposit return scheme for bottles
Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer says that more than 90% of all its UK packaging is recyclable, and less than 1% (by weight) of all its packaging can be traced back to polystyrene- M&S have trialled new materials to replace its black CPET (a type of plastic) packaging, and the foils in packaging for biscuits and crisps
- Between 2007 and 2012 it reduced its total packaging by 25%, and between 2012 and 2014, its food packaging usage per item decreased by 10%It is also looking at using plastics made from plant-based oils
Aldi and Quorn Foods have pledged to remove plastics from their products. Tesco, Sainsbury’s and M&S have collaborated with Viridor to develop a scanner that can recognise black plastics, separates it for shredding, melting and reusing in new packaging. This process currently diverts 120 tonnes of plastic per month from landfill.
Why not contact your local supermarket using this Greanpeace link or using the supermarkets’ online customer comment forms?