How to avoid PLASTICS in the SUPERMARKET
Reducing the amount of single-use plastic we throw away is a concern for all of us. But how easy is it to cut plastic waste when you shop for groceries? We investigate what the UK’S biggest supermarkets are doing to help…
It’s a scenario most of us will relate to: you unpack the weekly shop and are faced with a mountain of plastic packaging waste that only gets bigger as the week goes on. Research shows that almost two-thirds of UK shoppers are concerned about the issue*.
PRACTICAL STEPS
Packaging accounts for almost 2.5m tonnes of the plastic we use in the UK every year, according to Government figures. What’s more, roughly a third of all plastic used in packaging is single-use plastic produced by the UK’S top 10 supermarkets**. Pressure on companies has led to most of the UK’S leading supermarkets setting their own targets to reduce single-use plastic in the packaging of their own-brand products. The timeframes for meeting these targets (and the targets themselves) vary considerably. So what can shoppers do to stem the tide of plastic when they shop for their groceries?
We challenged a member of our consumer team to do a mystery shop.
IS PLASTIC-FREE ACTUALLY POSSIBLE?
Armed with a shopping list of 32 commonly bought food products, including bread, cereal, ham and carrots, we headed to a branch of a leading supermarket to fill two trolleys: one with pre-packed and plastic-packaged goods, the other with products packed in the least amount of plastic packaging possible. To ensure we had the best possible chance of finding non-plastic-packaged food, we chose a larger, out-of-town superstore with plenty of fresh food counters. These included a hot
Avoiding plastic packaging requires a lot of legwork
and cold deli, fish and meat counters and an in-store bakery.
When we filled the second trolley, we opted for loose food items where possible (which we packed in our own reused paper bags and reusable food storage boxes) and hunted for food products in non-plastic packaging.
Even though we shopped in a large store, we only managed to find non-plastic-packaged alternatives for half of the 32 products on our list. For foods such as crisps, biscuits, breakfast cereals and bread – all of which risk going stale without the right packaging – the lack of a non-plastic-packaged alternative was unsurprising. But the availability of other products in anything other than plastic often seemed inconsistent. We were able to buy fresh, unpackaged beef burgers and salmon fillets, but sausages were only available pre-packed. Fruit and veg, such as broccoli, sweet peppers and bananas, were all available to buy loose, but tomatoes, whole lettuces and oranges were not. Tea bags couldn’t be bought without a covering of plastic film, but this wasn’t used to package a box of loose-leaf tea. By opting for loose produce, buying from fresh food counters and seeking out alternatives to products packed in plastic, we managed to cut the number of pieces of single-use plastic waste generated by our shop by nearly 40%. ‘Avoiding plastic in the supermarket is possible but requires a lot of legwork by the consumer,’ says Emilie Martin, GH consumer editor. ‘And too often there just aren’t plastic-free alternatives on offer.’
LESS PLASTIC… BUT AT A PREMIUM
For some products, while a non-plastic-packaged alternative was available, there was a premium to pay. The result was that the total price of our ‘non-plastic’ basket of goods cost £3.50 more. For instance, we bought 500g of own-brand easy-cook rice in a plastic pack for 80p, but the same quantity in a cardboard box cost £2.10. A 500ml bottle of olive oil cost £2.54 in plastic (own-brand), but £4.25 in a glass bottle (branded). A pair of boneless salmon fillets cost £3.85 in a plastic pack, but cost £4.70 at the fresh fish counter. There was some good news, though. In the fruit and veg aisle, loose broccoli, baking potatoes and bananas worked out cheaper than their pre-packed counterparts, and there was no price difference between loose and pre-packed brown onions or carrots. Loose and pre-packed bread rolls and slices of honey roast ham were also identical in price. When it came to buying instant coffee, none of the packaging was plastic.
• For details about what your supermarket is doing, visit goodhousekeeping.com/ uk/cut-plastic-pollution
ONLY HALF of the products on our list came without plastic packaging. We couldn’t buy tomatoes, oranges or lettuce WITHOUT plastic packaging. Buying our weekly shop with less packaging actually cost us £3.50 MORE.