Are supermarkets doing enough on single-use packaging

Connor IbbetsonData Journalist
October 23, 2019, 12:35 PM GMT+0

Only 10% of Brits think supermarkets are doing enough to introduce sustainable packaging and cut down on plastic consumption

While many Brits might not support Extinction Rebellion’s shut down of London, they do agree with them on one thing: supermarkets need to do more to reduce consumption of single-use plastic.

The vast majority of Britons (82%) say that when it comes to single-use food packaging - not just plastics, but glass, metal, and paper - UK supermarkets are not doing enough to tackle the problem. Only 10% of Brits think the efforts of supermarkets to find other, more sustainable ways, of packaging are good enough.

Click to enlarge

As well as thinking supermarkets are not doing enough to crack down on single-use items, Britons also think that packaging needs to have clearer labelling showing how it can be recycled. Two in five Brits (42%) say they have at least some difficulty in understanding recycling information, compared to just half (53%) who say they find recycling instructions on packaging at least fairly easy to understand.

Despite thinking supermarkets need to do more to cut down on waste, Britons aren’t completely sure how they can recycle their own waste, with knowledge of local recycling facilities being a potential issue. Half of Britons (52%) say they are not completely sure what their local facilities can recycle, and one in twenty (6%) having no idea what they can or cannot recycle.

Click to enlarge

Despite being much more likely to support the actions of climate protesters, Britons between the ages of 18 and 24 are twice as likely (12%) to not know what they can and cannot recycle in their local area compared to Brits aged over 44 (5%).

Image: Getty

See full results here