Supermarkets Told to Cut the Rubbish
18 February 2009
Keep Britain Tidy is supporting calls for supermarkets to reduce the amount of packaging on food.
The appeal comes following a survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) revealing that stores are still using substantial amounts of unnecessary packaging - whether it be cling-filmed coconuts or tins of baked beans covered in shrink-wrap.
While supermarket packaging is often difficult to recycle and expensive to dispose of via landfill, Keep Britain Tidy is concerned that much of it ends up strewn across streets as litter.
Chief executive Phil Barton said: "The LGA's call to reduce excessive wrapping echoes a key recommendation from our own fast food litter campaign in January.
"By keeping packaging to a minimum, stores can strike an important blow for the environment at the point of sale."
The survey into food packaging was carried out by the British Market Research Bureau on behalf of the LGA, a cross-party organisation representing councils across England.