How can supermarkets make the environment better

Governments and supermarkets will therefore need to work together to drastically improve national recycling and food waste systems, so that shifts in packaging help rather than harm the environment. On food waste, France has shown how quickly change can be implemented. In , the country banned supermarkets from throwing away food and forced them to sign donation contracts with charities.

And in cases where shelf life is significantly improved, sticking with plastic may be the best thing for the planet — so long as we improve our abysmal recycling rates. Read more: Why some plastic packaging is necessary to prevent food waste and protect the environment. Beyond this are a number of other radical but vital steps supermarkets of the future could take to become bastions of environmental protection. First, celebration of the seasons and local produce.

For example, tomatoes imported to the UK from Spain produce lower emissions than British tomatoes, which require heated greenhouses. The vast majority of people would not be able to tell you in what month broccoli sprouts or mushrooms mature, or whether they even grow in their country.

Simple changes like organising aisles according to geography and showcasing local community food growers could transform the way we see food. The serious challenge of making often complex product supply chains transparent needs to be overcome before a labelling system can be truly effective, but focusing efforts on this is an important aim in itself, and one that supermarkets have a responsibility to lead on.

There are energy demand reduction and other opportunities for greener practises to be found throughout, from agriculture to processing, transport and waste disposal. From bold plastic reduction and recycling targets to moves to reduce food waste and the introduction of electric vehicles to delivery fleets, action is evident. But are the grocery giants going far enough?

Not yet, it seems. A recent Which? Serious room for improvement. A key moment in the fight against plastic waste was the introduction of the supermarket plastic bag charge four years ago. Supermarkets are a large centre of consumption and high turnaround of materials, goods and waste — the perfect place to make change on a big scale. It was a step in the right direction when the government decided that all large shops must charge 5p for single use carrier bags.

Some stores, such as Aldi and Asda, have pledged to take this one step further by eliminating single use plastic bags entirely, not even offering it as an option to shoppers. The aim of these charges and bans is to encourage the use of reusable bags for life, greatly reducing the circulation of plastic bags. Some supermarkets, such as Waitrose, are removing any single use plastic straws and disposable coffee cups across all stores. Asda has plans to replace coffee cups and straws with reusable alternatives to curb plastic waste and promote greener alternatives.