Eco-packaging on bananas not our bag, public tells Waitrose

WAITROSE has been hit by a backlash over using compostable banana bags as customers question why the fruit needs any packaging at all.

Shoppers took to social media to question why the retailer has stocked bananas in packaging.

One Twitter user said: “Of course bananas don’t even need to be in a bag. I would be happy to use paper bags or have loose veg and fruit.”

Another asked: “Why do bananas need a bag at all? … Surely it can’t be for hygiene reasons?”

Waitrose’s newly introduced home compostable bag is used for its Duchy Organic bananas.

Waitrose told The Grocer magazine it packages its bananas so “shoppers can see clearly which bananas are organic and to prevent mix-ups”. It said the bags, which are made from non-gm corn, will save an estimated 18 tons of plastic a year, while protecting and maintaining the quality of the bananas.

Its Duchy Organic bananas are the first of its fresh produce lines to be sold in a home compostable bag.

Waitrose is currently testing it for other loose produce lines, which could roll out before the summer. Last year, it

‘This shows the continued efforts we’re making to reduce unnecessary plastic packaging where we can’

removed plastic bags for its Duchy Organic bananas, replacing them with a plastic band.

Tor Harris, head of corporate social responsibility, health and agriculture at Waitrose, said: “We’re excited that Waitrose Duchy Organic bananas are the first of our fresh produce to be packaged in our ground-breaking home compostable bag.

“This move shows the continued efforts we’re making to reduce unnecessary plastic packaging wherever we possibly can and is part of our pledge to make all packaging either widely recyclable, reusable or home compostable by 2023.”

Emma Priestland, a Friends of the Earth plastics campaigner, said: “It’s good to see a big company like Waitrose looking for ways to reduce unnecessary plastic. But compostable, bio-based bags aren’t necessarily the gold-star solution they first appear.

“This is a case of swapping one kind of single use plastic for another, when actually removing the packaging entirely would be the best option.”