Supermarkets must take a lead in cutting plastic use

The work of creating a cleaner, greener Wanstead has focused recently on the need to cut plastics, especially from the high street.

Inspired by the excellent BBC programme, the War on Plastic, presented by Hugh Fernley Whittingstall and Anita Rani, people took the plastics back to the supermarkets, Tesco, M&S and the Co-op.

Plenty of plastic was piled up in the trolleys, then delivered to the managers of the different shops. The managers showed a positive willingness to engage and continue the dialogue.

Tesco pointed to its own recycling record.

The problem ofcourse is huge, with plastic choking the planet.

Now the stuff is literally everywhere, in the food chain, water supply and air.

It is estimated that there are 19.5 billion single plastic use items in the UK at any one time. And these plastic usage levels are set to triple by 2025.

There were the 8 billion plastic bottles produced last year.

Something clearly needs to be done. At an individual level we can all aim to cut out single use plastic. Locally, Redbridge Council is aiming to cut single use plastic in its various facilities, as part of the new waste strategy. The shops need to stop promoting single use plastic.

The fact that supermarkets charge much more for loose fruit and vegetables than they do for what is wrapped up in plastic containers says it all.

As we found on the #ourplasticsfeedback day of action, the supermarkets often quote recycling in defence. However, the real challenge is not to produce the plastic in the first place.

One disturbing part of the War on Plastic programme concerned the discovery that recyclable waste from the UK was being dumped in Malaysia, where it was burnt. This created transport emissions, then the damage caused by burning to the environment and the illnesses in the local population. A failure on all levels.

The story well illustrated the dangers of an out of sight out of mind approach to the problem. It is of absolutely no use to the planet if this country just transports the problem elsewhere, for someone else to deal with the consequences.

Recycling is good but clearly there needs to be far greater scrutiny of the process – a verifiable transparent audit trail to ensure that the waste really is being recycled in a sustainable way.

The tide of plastic can be turned around. It requires us as individuals to stop using the stuff, re-use wherever possible and recycle. Also, put pressure on the supermarkets to act, take the plastic back. Also, though, we must get government to act to stop this deluge of waste that is choking the planet.

published - Wanstead Directory - August