Greenpeace says Sainsbury’s is worst supermarket for reducing plastic waste
29th March 2019 | Recycling
Greenpeace has criticised Sainsbury’s for failing to reduce the amount of plastic waste it produces. The environmental charity has targeted the UK’s second biggest supermarket after it was found to be “the worst in class” in a 2018 survey of retailer’s plastic policies. According to Greenpeace, Sainsbury’s has made the least progress out of the top 10 UK supermarkets, pledging to cut just 77 tonnes of plastic packaging, compared to Asda’s 6,500 tonnes and Morrison’s 3,766 tonnes.
As a result, the organisation is now calling for Sainsbury’s to set yearly plastic reduction targets, and start by eliminating unnecessary and unrecyclable plastic by 2020. Elena Polisano, ocean plastics campaigner at Greenpeace UK, says, “Sainsbury’s knows that plastics pollute our oceans and harm wildlife. They know that customers care about cutting plastic.
“And they know their competitors have outdone them on plastics reductions measures. But they remain worst in class. If supermarkets fail to cut their plastic packaging, they’re sending pollution on a conveyor belt that could end up in our rivers and seas. This has to stop. Sainsbury’s must eliminate unnecessary and unrecyclable plastic by 2020.”
However, Sainsbury’s has hit back at the claims stating that it has “ambitious targets” to reduce plastic from its stores. “Greenpeace says we have pledged to reduce plastic by 77 tonnes and, in fact, we will reduce plastic by well over 2,400 tonnes in the next 12 months alone,” a Sainsbury’s spokesperson tells the Independent. “For Sainsbury’s branded products, 67 per cent of the plastic that we use is widely recyclable and 100 per cent will be widely recyclable packaging by 2025. We have ambitious targets to continue to reduce plastic across our product range.
Sainsbury’s also provided a breakdown of its plastic pledge, revealing that it plans to remove plastic over course of the year.
More information available on the website below