Supermarkets’ use of plastic has risen this year despite retailers making public commitments to cut down on packaging.
The ten biggest chains got through more than 900,000 tonnes of single-use plastic this year, a rise of 17,000 tonnes on 2018.
Seven of the ten increased their plastic footprint, with only Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco achieving reductions of one tonne, half a tonne and two tonnes respectively.
Tesco accounted for more than a quarter of plastic packaging, with 259,000 tonnes distributed this year, according to a survey published by Greenpeace and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).
Total plastic packaging used by Britain’s ten biggest supermarkets rose from an estimated 886,000 tonnes last year to 903,000 tonnes this year. The plastic packaging used for branded
