Store puts an end to green shopper’s bid to help planet

A green-minded shopper has been left shocked and angry after the country’s leading supermarket banned him from bringing his own packaging to carry food home in.

Graeme Corry, a retired banker living in Edinburgh, decided to cut the amount of plastic he was using to address rising fears over the impact of waste on the planet.

So he opted to do away with any unnecessary packaging when shopping for groceries.

But staff at his local Tesco store, in the Corstorphine area of the capital, have said he can no longer do that.

“I began taking my own containers to the butcher, cold meat and cheese counters in my local Tesco,” he said.

“This had been going well for the past two or three weeks, until I was told to stop. Staff said there had been instructions from HQ that customers were not to be served produce in their own containers.”

Apparently staff have also been told not to offer customers an alternative, non-plastic wrapping instead of clingfilm, such as greaseproof paper.

“There must be more people asking for this,” he said.

“I don’t know if it’s for health and safety reasons that Tesco won’t allow people to bring their own packaging. Do they think I’m not capable of deciding whether the containers I’m bringing are suitable?

“Not only that, surely my actions are also saving the company money.”

As part of its Little Helps plan, Tesco has committed to the following by 2025: making packaging fully recyclable or compostable; ensuring all

0 Graeme Corry was told he can’t use his own containers at Tesco paper and board is 100 per cent sustainable; and halving packaging weight from 2007 levels.

The Tesco website mentions ‘changing customer behaviour’. It states: “We can use marketing and promotions to encourage recycling, use of own containers, and choice of packaging purchase.”

Green MSP for Lothian Alison Johnstone said: “Just this month Tesco made a lot of noise about reducing plastic waste, so this decision is inexplicable. If someone brings their own container to the deli counter it costs Tesco less and it doesn’t take any more staff time to fill and weigh.

“Better recycling is worthwhile, but reducing single use plastics is better still, so there’s no excuse for not letting cus- tomers do the right thing. Reversing this baffling ruling would be a start, but if Tesco were serious about reducing plastic pollution they’d go further and offer discounts for people who bring their own tubs.”

A Tesco spokesman said: “We need to balance our responsibility to sell food in a safe and hygienic way with the feedback we receive from our customers.

“As part of our ongoing work to reduce the amount of packaging we use, we are actively looking to provide customers with an alternative helpful way of taking food home from our counters.”

Mr Corry, 63, says he will be boycotting the store if Tesco does not change its stance.