Industry response to survey about plastic-free aisles

A survey conducted by Populus and commissioned by the campaign group A Plastic Planet found that nine out of ten people would like supermarkets to introduce a “plastic-free aisle”.

The British Plastics Federation has issued the following response:

A decade ago, a major retailer trialled selling cucumbers without plastic packaging but the scheme was abandoned due to the huge amount of food that was wasted. Typically, food waste in stores increases by a third without packaging, so cutting out plastic packaging in areas within supermarkets would actually cause harm to the environment because the energy used to produce food is much greater than in the packaging protecting it. Plastic packaging uses less energy to produce than alternatives, reduces transport costs and CO2 emissions because it is lightweight, and significantly reduces the amount of food wasted by protecting it in a hygienic environment and extending its shelf life. Avoiding the protection of plastic packaging would also increase food waste during transit and once it reached the home. Plastics are a reusable resource that needs to be disposed of responsibly and recycled whenever possible — and focussing efforts on improving public understanding, reducing littering and enhancing the UK’s recycling infrastructure would be a better way of achieving a sustainable future.