Plastic-free supermarkets

We all have a responsibility to 'do something' about plastic pollution:
Futures Forum: There will soon be more plastic than fish in the sea
Futures Forum: What's your plastic footprint? ... “A one-use bottle is simply not a viable option for our business”

The Prime Minister has promised to “eliminate all avoidable plastic waste” within 25 years:
Futures Forum: UK to cut 'all avoidable plastic waste' by 2042

But many consider that not enough:
In its own ‘war on plastic’, the UK government is a deserter | Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall | Opinion | The Guardian

Other action and earlier action is possible:
Futures Forum: Creating alternatives to the plastic takeaway coffee cup >>> 'to reduce carbon emissions, recycle waste, and produce a product that is more affordable to manufacture'

With many very good ideas being put on the market:
The entrepreneurs fighting the war on plastic - Telegraph

Business is taking it seriously:

Consumer goods groups join war on plastic

Big names from Coke to Unilever address concerns as customers and governments urge action

Alarm is growing over the destructive impact of plastic on wildlife © Alamy

John Aglionby in Nairobi, Anna Nicolaou in New York and Scheherazade Daneshkhu in LondonJANUARY 22, 201820

When Coca-Cola announced ambitious new targets for package recycling last week, the decision was not solely driven by concern for the environment. It raised the stakes in the latest battleground for consumers’ wallets.

A pledge by the US beverage company, which uses 120bn bottles a year, to collect and recycle the equivalent of all its packaging by 2030 comes as a number of large consumer groups announce commitments to reduce packaging and make more of it recyclable.

Makers of everything from crisps and drinks to shampoo and laundry detergent are responding to growing public alarm about pollution as a younger generation, deemed to be more environmentally aware, becomes the biggest spending group. In addition, documentaries by Sir David Attenborough, the British naturalist, and others, have alerted people to the level of plastic in our oceans and its destructive impact on wildlife.

The war on plastic is now “part of a marketing plan” for consumer goods companies says Ali Dibadj, analyst with Bernstein. “Millennials in particular are a target of these companies. And millennials are broadly looking for opportunities to do good in the world, not just financially.”

Consumer goods groups join war on plastic - Financial Times
Plastics ban set to frustrate recycling exporters - Financial Times
Why plastic is no longer fantastic - Financial Times

And retailers are taking it very seriously:
Iceland supermarket chain aims to be plastic free by 2023 - BBC News
Iceland announces new ranges as part of plastics-free pledge - Packaging News
Waitrose pledges to drop black plastic from own-label produce - The Grocer
Tesco calls for a deposit on plastic bottles | Daily Mail Online

But much more could be done - as this petition calls for from Avaaz:

Plastic Free Supermarkets in the UK now!

Our biggest supermarkets churn out enough plastic every year to cover the whole of Greater London in trash, but 200 MPs have just called on them to go plastic-free! Let's supercharge their call with a customers' petition and end the plague of plastic packaging. Join now and share with everyone you know. Sign the petition

Dear friends across the UK,

Our biggest supermarkets have become plastic waste factories, churning out more than 800,000 tonnes of plastic packaging every year! That's enough to cover the whole of Greater London in trash, and it's helping to choke our oceans, kill our wildlife, even contaminate our tap water.

But 200 cross-party MPs have just called on the UK's biggest supermarkets, like Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer, to ditch plastic packaging within five years. If enough of us get behind them, we can supercharge their plea and get rid of a huge source of plastic pollution for good!

Join the call for plastic-free supermarkets and share with everyone you know. When we get to 200,000 signatures, we'll deliver the message in person to stores up and down the country.

Click to demand plastic-free supermarkets now!

Supermarkets are responsible for around a quarter of the plastic used in the entire UK! And most of it ends up in landfill, the ocean, or getting burned. Plastic packaging is drowning the planet and the stupid thing is it's not even necessary.

We know change is possible: Iceland has already pledged to ditch plastic after 80% of customers backed the move in a survey. Other leading supermarkets have no excuse not to follow suit.

Let's show Tesco, Morrisons and the rest that we -- their customers -- won't stand for plastic pollution any longer! Join our call for plastic-free supermarkets, and let's end this plastic plague.

Click to demand plastic-free supermarkets now!

We are the same community that delivered a million-strong petition to UN Environment calling for a global phase-out of single-use plastics in the next 5 years. Together we have raised enough money to start campaigning along the 10 rivers that pollute our oceans the most! Our power is immense. Now let's win the battle against plastic in our biggest supermarkets and inspire hundreds of others across the world to follow.

With hope and determination,

Olivia, Patricia, Camille, Danny, and the rest of the Avaaz team.

SOURCES:

Hundreds of MPs call on supermarkets to scrap plastic packaging (The Guardian):
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/19/hundreds-of-mps-call-on-supermarkets-to-scrap-pl...

Iceland becomes first supermarket to go 'plastic-free' for own brand products in landmark announcement (The Independent):
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/iceland-plastic-free-packaging-own-brand-products-re...

Plastic is in more than 80% of TAP WATER around the world (Mail):
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4857056/Plastic-80-tap-water-world.html

In its own 'war on plastic', the UK government is a deserter (Guardian):
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/22/war-on-plastic-uk-government-ocean-species-ban...

Avaaz - Plastic Free Supermarkets in the UK now!
Avaaz - End the plastic plague
Avaaz - The World in Action
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