Supermarkets are fuelling the tide of plastic pollution by selling fresh produce in bags and trays that cannot be recycled.
Despite claims around cutting packaging and waste, their shelves are heaving with fruit and veg wrapped in unnecessary plastic.
All the stores insist they are making strides to reduce packaging and ensure the materials they use can be recycled.
However, most say they will not hit a target to ensure all packaging can be recycled until 2025.
Supermarkets are fuelling the tide of plastic pollution by selling fresh produce in bags and trays that cannot be recycled
Most supermarkets say they will not hit a target to ensure all packaging can be recycled until 2025
And some say the reason the bags, film and trays are going in the bin is because some local councils refuse to accept them.
Many products carry the admission on the back of the packs: ‘Not currently recycled.’
Others carry labels telling customers they are ‘widely recycled’.
However, they advise people to check with their council, which is confusing and impractical.
A snapshot survey of eight leading chains reveals much of the fresh produce comes in plastic packaging that cannot be recycled.
Often the packs are much bigger than the contents would justify.
Carrots from M&S (bottom left) came in a black plastic tray inside a bag, both of which are not recyclable
And many smaller supermarket outlets only sell fruit and veg wrapped in plastic, rather than loose as was always the case with traditional greengrocers.
For example, a pack of eight vine ripened tomatoes from Tesco came in a clear plastic tray inside a plastic bag, which are both listed as ‘Not currently recycled’.
Carrots from M&S came in a black plastic tray inside a bag, both of which are not recyclable.
Pak choi from Sainsbury’s came in a plastic bag that cannot be recycled and was twice the size of the contents.
At Waitrose, a pack of two beetroot came in a clear plastic carton, which can be recycled, and a plastic bag which cannot.
Oceans campaigner at Greenpeace, Tisha Brown, said: ‘Selling fruit and vegetables in plastic packaging that can’t be recycled makes no sense.
‘It simply adds to the mountain of plastic waste that ends up in our oceans every year, where it causes serious harm to marine life including seabirds, turtles, and whales.
A pack of eight vine ripened tomatoes from Tesco (bottom left) came in a clear plastic tray inside a plastic bag, which are both listed as ‘Not currently recycled’
‘A better alternative is not so hard to find. Most supermarkets already sell fruit and veg in loose form and there are also compostable materials for the more delicate items.
‘It’s time for big retailers to start taking responsibility for the huge amount of unnecessary plastic they sell along with their products.
‘Initiatives like bottle return schemes show that with a bit of ingenuity and a small effort we can stop the tide of plastic rubbish polluting our seas.’
Chief Executive of environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, Allison Ogden-Newton, said some protective wrapping is needed.
But, she said: ‘Unnecessary packaging that cannot be recycled is an environmental menace and waste of resources.
‘We would like to see supermarkets reduce the overall amount of plastic packaging and also number of different types of plastic used, sticking to those that can be recycled by the vast majority of people in this country through their usual collections.’
Supermarkets said that most packaging is necessary to protect the produce and so reduce food waste.
They said local councils should make it easier for the public by having a standard national approach to plastic recycling.
At Waitrose, a pack of two beetroot came in a clear plastic carton, which can be recycled, and a plastic bag which cannot