Dutch chainstore points way to plastic-free future
The introduction of the world’s first supermarket aisle devoted to products in environmentally friendly packaging may prove to be a wake-up call for British retailers
IT DESCRIBES itself as an “organic lifestyle chain” – but Dutch supermarket Ekoplaza is also at the vanguard of a revolution that could change the way we shop for ever. An Amsterdam branch of Ekoplaza has become the world’s first supermarket to include a plasticfree aisle. Seven hundred items will be available, including meats, chocolate, dairy, snacks, fruit and vegetables, with all of the packaging made of green products, from innovative “compostable biomaterials” to metal, cardboard or glass.
Chief executive Erik Does said: “We know that our customers are sick of products laden in layer after layer of thick plastic packaging. Plastic-free aisles are a really innovative way of testing the compostable biomaterials that offer a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic packaging.”
Ekoplaza may be leading the antiplastic charge but many believe that it won’t be long before big retailers in this country follow suit.
Last October, former Asda chief executive Andy Clarke came out against plastic packaging in favour of sustainable alternatives. “Go into any supermarket in the country and you will be met by a wall of plastic,” Clarke said.
“Regardless of how much is invested in Britain’s recycling infrastructure, virtually all plastic packaging will reach landfill or the bottom of the ocean sooner or later. Once there, it will remain on the earth for centuries. It is vital that the UK packaging industry and supermarkets work together to turn off the tap.”
Clarke also pointed out that even so-called recyclable plastics had flimsy eco-credentials at best.
“Unlike materials such as aluminium and glass, plastic cannot be recycled ad infinitum,” he said. “Most plastic packaging can only be recycled twice before it becomes unusable. We have been able to recycle plastic for decades yet it remains a scourge on the planet. Recycling will never offer a durable solution – we simply have to use less of it in the first place.”
FROZEN food retailer Iceland has already pledged to eliminate plastic packaging from all of its own-brand products by 2023, with managing director Richard Walker saying: “There really is no excuse any more for excessive packaging that creates needless waste and damages our environment. The onus is on retailers… to deliver meaningful change.”
And Iceland is not alone. Waitrose has removed 65 per cent of black plastic – which is even tougher to recycle than other plastics – from its fruit and vegetable packaging and plans to phase it out completely by next year.
In addition, drinks giants Diageo and Pernod Ricard have announced they will no longer allow the use of plastic straws and drinks stirrers in any part of their business, pointing out that a single straw can take more than 200 years to break down.
If this is indeed an eco-revolution then like all the best revolutions it has its roots in a groundswell of popular opinion. A Populus poll of more than 2,000 British people last year revealed that not only were 81 per cent of us concerned about the amount of plastic packaging thrown away in the UK, but more than nine in 10 support the idea of plastic-free supermarket aisles.
And it seems we are prepared to do something about it. Since the 5p plastic-bag charge was introduced in England in 2015, nine billion fewer bags have been used, and the number used on average by customers each year has dropped from 140 to just 25.
But it has perhaps been the impact of Sir David Attenborough’s BBC series Blue Planet II last autumn that has done the most to highlight the devastation plastics cause to the environment. Viewers were shocked at the impact on marine life, with footage showing a hawksbill turtle struggling to swim after being tangled in a plastic sack, or dead birds with their legs fatally caught in supermarket bags prompting calls for change.
The series also highlighted the danger from “microplastics”, tiny DEADLY LEGACY: The shocking effects of plastic pollution on our marine life has led to initiatives such as Ekoplaza’s plastic-free aisle, above plastic particles that are consumed by sea creatures and so end up in the food chain. Companies including Nestle and Unilever have now endorsed a ban on “oxo-degradable plastics”, which, although originally touted as eco-friendly with claims that they degrade into harmless residues, have actually been found to fragment into tiny particles that contribute to microplastic pollution.
Their use has been banned in France since 2015 and last year British retailers Tesco and the Co-op also stopped their use in their carrier bags.
Perhaps mindful of the strength of popular opinion, in January Prime Minister Theresa May declared she wanted to eradicate all “avoidable plastic waste” by 2042, describing it as “one of the great environmental scourges of our time”.
Among the Government’s proposals are plans to tax single-use takeaway containers and the introduction of Ekoplaza-style plasticfree aisles in supermarkets.
For some, however, the time for talking is over – and the example of Ekoplaza should be taken up worldwide. Sian Sutherland, of green pressure group A Plastic Planet, says: “The introduction of the world’s first plastic-free aisle
SCALE OF THE PLASTIC SCOURGE 1 MILLION
tonnes of plastic are generated by supermarkets in the UK each year.
40%
of plastic packaging is accounted for by the grocery retail sector.
8 MILLION
tonnes of plastic are estimated to leak into the world’s oceans each year to be ingested by birds, fish and other organisms.
2050
The year by which experts believe the ocean will contain more plastic by weight than fish.
11,000
tiny pieces of plastic are ingested each year by people who eat seafood.
33%
of UK-caught fish was found to contain fragments of plastic according to a 2017 study.
1 MILLION
plastic bottles are bought every minute worldwide.
71%
of the 5 million tonnes of plastic used in the UK each year is not recycled.
200 YEARS
represents a landmark moment for the global fight against plastic pollution. Finally we can see a future where the public have a choice about whether to buy plastic or plastic-free.
“There is no logic in wrapping something as fleeting as food in something as indestructible as plastic. Plastic food and drink packaging remains useful for a matter of days, yet remains a destructive presence on the earth for centuries afterwards.”
And according to Greenpeace Oceans campaigner Tisha Brown: “With ocean plastic pollution ending up in everything from sea salt to seagulls to our seafood, and many shoppers frustrated with the amount of plastic packaging they encounter at their supermarket, now would be a very good time for any supermarket to give shoppers the option of opting out.
“The great thing about a plasticfree aisle is that it could encourage innovation in packaging many different products and save environmentally minded consumers the hassle of hunting for environmentally friendly choices across the store.”