Claims by leading supermarkets that they are cutting back on wasteful plastic bags have been exposed as a sham.So..?
Consumer group Which? ordered the same 29 items from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Ocado and Waitrose.Oh noes! Will the world end?
Tesco used 13 bags, Sainsbury’s supplied ten, both Ocado and Asda packed the order in nine bags and Waitrose used just eight.
But both Tesco and Asda also packed four items in a single bag each.
Which? said: ‘Online supermarkets like to use their websites to boast about environmental credentials, but when you use these sites for shopping, the number of carrier bags delivered to your door can be staggeringly wasteful.Umm, yes, so do most people. You see, bread is squashy. You don't want to plonk a couple of bottles and a few tins on top of it.
‘Tesco and Asda each delivered four bags containing only one item. Both, for example, put one loaf of bread in its own bag.’
Well, not unless you've got a very odd-shaped toaster....
Tesco, which gives away more free plastic bags than any other store, has talked up its efforts to cut down on the waste and blight they cause.So, the supermarkets are damned if they do, and damned if they don't...
The chain highlighted the fact that it had switched to degradable bags, claiming this would ensure they rot away when discarded.
However a subsequent Government study found these are more harmful to the environment than conventional plastic bags.
The bags, which are designed to break down after a couple of years, leave behind a plastic soup of tiny particles that could harm birds, insects and mammals.
‘Waitrose was the most sparing in its bag use, although packing food in specific groups – such as frozen – meant that some of the bags were still underpacked.’And yet, the Earth still turns...
15 comments:
The biggest problem with the multi-bag delivery system is that by the time you've looked into every single one of them and discovered that a)your lemon squash has been helpfully replaced by lemon washing up liquid and b)at least one bag contains someone else's groceries, the delivery driver is long gone.
Intermarche in France only use one plastic bag two at most to deliver your groceries. However they are big enough to hold an elephant, whether or not they are biodegradable or not that I cannot say.
When Tesco deliver our shopping the only things they put in bags are items that can leak, for example, shampoo.
Perhaps that is because my wife selects the option for No bags.
As the irritating meerkat says.... Simples
Whem I was a kid Mrs Amey packed all the grocery neatly into a carboard box if customers didn't leave their own box or bags. But Mrs Amey wasn't trying to save the planet just a few pennies - nothing like an economic incentive eh!
@Antisthenes,
I have it on quite good authority that elephants are generally considered to be biodegradable.
WHich just goes to show what you can achieve if you involve people from the beginning.
Ocado take last weeks bags back for recycling.
So in a few responses from the readers of this blog the conculsions of the Which report have been shown to be incorrect, badly researched and ridiculously alarmist....and this was for a really simple survey not comparing the merits of a selection of complex consumer devices
And people buy this pointless publication why?
So Which? would have preferred no plastic bags, but ordered a roll of plastic bags to use as bin liners etc.
Doh!
I too never buy bin bags, but use the supermarket bags instead.
I don't really care whether it is 'green'or not, but the bag is used twice and there is less cost.
Anyone would think that "Home Delivery" is some 21st century innovation, made possible by computers. Yet 40 odd years ago my mother would phone the local shop with her order, and later that day Mr Marks would arrive with the items all carefully packed in a cardboard box.
Progress....
"The biggest problem with the multi-bag delivery system is that by the time you've looked into every single one of them and discovered that a)your lemon squash has been helpfully replaced by lemon washing up liquid and b)at least one bag contains someone else's groceries, the delivery driver is long gone."
Ah, yes, I've had that. Ocado came back with a replacement on the same day, though, which was nice.
"Perhaps that is because my wife selects the option for No bags."
Yes, indeed - not sure if ALL supermarkets offer this option, mind, but the ones I use all do.
"Whem I was a kid Mrs Amey packed all the grocery neatly into a carboard box if customers didn't leave their own box or bags."
You know, it's just occurred to me - you used to see empty packing boxes left in the store for customers to help themselves - they came in cery useful, especially when doing a big shop at Christmas with lots of bottles.
Now, I can't remember when I last saw that. Though I have been offered special bottle carriers made of...cardboard!
I wonder if H&S or legal issues made them stop this practice?
"Ocado take last weeks bags back for recycling."
Ocado certainly seem to be winning this 'green' war.
"So in a few responses from the readers of this blog the conculsions of the Which report have been shown to be incorrect, badly researched and ridiculously alarmist....and this was for a really simple survey not comparing the merits of a selection of complex consumer devices"
God bless blogs!
We should be able to earn money for this as consumer consultants!
"So Which? would have preferred no plastic bags, but ordered a roll of plastic bags to use as bin liners etc.
Doh!"
Indeed. As blueknight points out, the bags DON'T get thrown away - they are mostly reused for other things.
"Anyone would think that "Home Delivery" is some 21st century innovation, made possible by computers. Yet 40 odd years ago my mother would phone the local shop with her order, and later that day Mr Marks would arrive with the items all carefully packed in a cardboard box."
Good point.
Here's an interesting link re plastic v paper bags......
http://www.thetruthaboutplasticbags.com/
http://www.thetruthaboutplasticbags.com/ belongs to a company that makes plastic bags.
My supermarket bags are largely re-purposed as bin liners. I still have a healthy surfeit of them. My cleaning lady does something with the overflow. No idea what. Since my indifference allows me to make enough money to put her brilliant and beautiful daughter through a software engineering course at the local University, I rest easy in my bed.
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