Shops must move towards reduced plastic

THERE’S a push onto encourage supermarkets to reduce the amount of packaging on goods and to provide shoppers with more options when it comes to reducing waste.

Anyone who does a weekly family shop will know that frustrating feeling when along with the fridge and cupboards, the waste bin is brimming over with soft plastics.

Everything, it seems needs its own layer of plastic and for consumers, if you want to purchase the goods, you must accept the layers of plastic along with it.

I don’t know what the idea is behind even putting a plastic wrapper on a bunch of bananas but it’s happening.

The selection of wrapper-less fresh produce is ever-dwindling and even when the option is there, what do put them into? - a non-recyclable plastic bag.

Years ago, Ireland scoffed and rolled its eyes at the notion of bringing our own shopping bags to the supermarket.

We said it would never work and lamented the thin plastic bags of old but within a matter of months, the bag for life was where it was at.

Finally, people started thinking about the benefits of re-using things and of reducing their plastic consumption.

However, within a few years, we seem to have regressed somewhat in the amount of soft plastics that’s making its way into our trolleys, and in turn, waste bins.

If consumers aren’t happy with this , we need to start making it clear.

I’ve seen some people happily unwrapping all their products in some supermar- kets and filling up the public bins to send a message and to avoid taking it home.

Many would not dream of doing this but still curse the shops when they have to dispose of the plastics themselves at home.

The thing is, it needs to be made easy for consumers to embrace a reduced plastic life.

There is no such option in the smaller towns and rural areas, but in cities there are a number of large stores where you can buy most food items loose and transport it home in your own reusable containers.

This is much more costly and much more time consuming, especially if you have to drive out of your way to get there, and therefore only the most dedicated among us will make it a regular thing.

Surely there must be a happy medium?