Climate change activist stages plastics protest
A CLIMATE change activist has made her own statement about the use of plastic in supermarkets.
Jackie Hopkinson, of the North East Derbyshire Climate Action Group, left all non-recyclable plastic from her weekly shop to be disposed of by supermarket staff. She hopes it will make supermarkets more conscious of damage to the environment caused by packaging.
The stunt took place at the Aldi store in Clay Cross, where she was doing her usual shop.
Jackie has aimed to avoid using plastics wherever possible in her day-to-day life, but feels it is getting increasingly difficult due to supermarkets’ reliance on them.
She said: “I’ve been writing letters, talking to staff and campaigning about plastic for years, I can’t see it has helped one bit, so now I’m taking matters into my own hands and leaving all the plastic packaging behind.”
She removed the plastic packaging from her shopping and left it in the store, accompanied by a note explaining her actions.
The note read: “Dear Aldi manager, I am leaving my plastic packaging today as I object to its excessive use in your store and the lack of alternatives.
“Plastic pollution is a major risk to the health of the earth and all living creatures. Please contact your head office and request a radical rethink on packaging policy and a review of alternatives.”
In response, An Aldi spokesperson said: “At Aldi we are committed to further reducing plastic throughout our stores and have pledged to halve our plastic packaging footprint by 2025. We have already removed over 7,400 tonnes of plastic from across our range, including banning single-use plastic bags for loose fruit and veg, removing plastic lids from yoghurt and cream pots and removing all shrinkwrapping from own-label multipack soft drinks.”