Today 15 million plastic bottles will walk out of our supermarkets. In a year that is getting close to a half a billion bottles.
In our country we use more food packaging per person than anyone else in Europe.
The way we look at things is this: It is better to produce less packaging than to try and get everyone to recycle more. To do this we have to convince just five people in the UK: the all powerful supermarket bosses.
If they wanted their suppliers to use less packaging, their suppliers would have no choice but to listen. But if our supermarkets want to lead the way in terms of corporate responsibility, they could put this power to good use. There are plenty of ways that they can do this. Manufacturers could market products in more concentrated form, use packaging that is thinner, lighter or better designed, or ideally, use biodegradable packaging, (A similar scheme in Germany cut down 1 million tons of packaging in four years.
An aircraft carrier weighs approximately 60,000 tons).
So here's what to do.
If you find stuff littering the street, the beach or the mountains just send it back to the supermarkets using one of the addresses on the left.
The hope is that they will talk to their existing suppliers about cutting down on packaging and getting manufacturers to take responsibility for their products after they have left the store.
Of course, not every supermarket will do it. It will be interesting to see who leads the way. And maybe, the reward for the one who leads the way will be
that we like them more. Because they shouldn't forget that there will be a day in the not too distant future when all supermarkets are selling the same products at the same prices, and we will shop at the one we like the most, or in other words, the one who used their power to do the most good.
The Chairman
Tesco Plc
Head office
Delamre Road
Cheshunt
Herts.
EN8 9SL
The Chairman
J Sainsbury
33 Holborn
London
EC1N 2HT
The Chairman
Waitrose Ltd
Doncastle Road
Southern
Industrial Area
Bracknell
Berkshire
RG12 8YA
more info
www.wastewatch.org.uk
www.recycle-more.co.uk
In Britain, 4m tons of packaging ends up in landfills
every year.
There are 25 million tons of litter on our streets.