The best and worst supermarkets for plastic packaging - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Food The best and worst supermarkets for plastic packaging By You Magazine - July 23, 2018 As more and more of us join in the fight against plastic pollution, there is increasing pressure on supermarkets to reassess their packaging practices, reducing unnecessary wrapping and containers, and eliminating those made with non-recyclable materials. Getty Images New research from Which? compared own-brand products from the top UK supermarket chains – and found that overall, nearly a third (29%) of packaging is non-recyclable. However, there is a huge variation between supermarket brands in how eco-friendly their packaging is. Family-owned Morrisons comes out on top, with 81% of the packaging on their own-brand products being widely-recyclable (i.e. recycled by most councils), and an additional 7% of packaging recyclable at their in-store recycling points. Iceland and Lidl meanwhile have the lowest percentage of widely-recyclable packaging. Here’s the full Which? ranking: Source: Which Although the percentages of non-recyclable plastic might seem low – it really does add up. According to the Which? report, experts estimate that British supermarkets alone create 800,000 tonnes of plastic every year. Tto put that into context a small car weighs one tonne. The report also criticised supermarkets for using unclear and inconsistent labelling, so shoppers aren’t clear what can and can’t be recycled. Anyone else tried – and failed – to decipher those mystery symbols? (If you want a definitive guide – Recycle Now has a useful explanation of each symbol, which might be worth keeping to hand by your kitchen’s recycle bin). Nearly all of the major supermarket brands – alongside food manufacturers – have signed the UK Plastics Pact, which commits them to meeting a series of environmental targets by 2025. These include eliminating unnecessary single-use plastic packaging, with 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable. Many supermarket bosses have pledged to meet or exceed these targets sooner, and develop even more sophisticated packaging innovations – but the proof is in the (eco-friendly packaged) pudding. Read the full Which? report here. RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Kids can eat for free at these restaurants during October half-term How to make the viral negroni sbagliato with prosecco at home Everything we know about The Crown season 5 Popular in Food Gabriela Peacock 14-day plan Anytime baked eggs May 23, 2021 Joe Wicks’ maple-glazed chicken thighs with Asian slaw June 6, 2021 Mary Berry is returning to TV screens for a brand new June 15, 2021 Eleanor Maidment My summer taste notes July 4, 2021 Uyen Luu’ s sticky mustard marmalade ribs July 25, 2021 Annie Bell’ s white peach bellinis recipe August 8, 2021 M& S has launched a new crunchy Caramilk-inspired golden chocolate spread August 24, 2021 Deliciously preserved pickle and jam recipes September 19, 2021 Gordon Ramsay’ s bang bang cauliflower October 3, 2021 Wow right now Clodagh McKenna’ s speedy family dinners October 24, 2021 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved