The Green Village News Tagged ‘supermarkets’

48% Reduction In Carrier Bag Usage; 2% Short Of Target

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Back in February Gordon Brown threatened supermarkets that unless they took action to reduce the amount of carrier bags given away, currently 1 billion bags every year of which many are shipped off to landfill after a single use, the government would pass legislation forcing supermarkets to act.

The threat paid off, as carrier bag usage has been reduced by 48% across the UK in May 2009 compared to the amount of bags used in May 2006, meaning a reduction of 420 million fewer carrier bags in total. However with a target of 50% set by British Retail Consortium members, the Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Department of the Environment and Defra in 2008, this is still 2% short of their original aim.

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New Sainsbury’s Store Powers Its Checkouts On Kinetic Energy

Monday, June 15th, 2009

sainsbury's signYou would be forgiven for thinking that all supermarkets are born equal; the same blueprint for design and layout. However, the new supermarket being built in Gloucester by Sainsbury’s is challenging convention by fitting kinetic road plates in its car park. These plates will generate electricty that can be used in the store’s checkouts, which will help reduce the store’s carbon footprint.

Although not widely known about, the technology isn’t new; the kinetic plates are on trial in a number of distribution warehouses, but this is the first time they have been put to use in a supermarket carpark. Developed by a scientist in Dorset, Peter Hughes of Highway Energy Systems, the kinetic road plates are designed to transfer energy from the the tyres of cars as they pass over them as they travel across the car park. The cars create a rocking motion in the plates which drives a generator to produce the electricity; electricity generated from energy that would otherwise be lost.

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New Zealand Supermarkets Introduce Tax to Curb Carrier Bag Use

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

New Zealand supermarket chain, Foodstuffs, have announced the introduction of a tax on carrier bags for customers at all New World and Four Square stores nationwide, and South Island’s Pak ‘n Save stores, which would make them the first supermarket in New Zealand charging for plastic bags. It is hoped that this will help reduce the number of carrier bags sent to landfill each year.

Jo Knight, director or Zero Waste New Zealand, advised that over the course of a single year, New Zealanders get through over a billion carrier bags. About 80% of this shocking amount of plastic shopping bags are handed out by New Zealands supermarkets. Knight urged competitors of Foodstuffs, Progressive, to follow the example being set by taking action to reduce their contribution to the carrier bag problem.

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Britain’s Supermarkets Get Packing

Friday, February 27th, 2009

Around the country Britain’s supermarkets have been declaring war on carrier bags, with various methods across the different chains to try and entice us to loosen our grip and reliance on plastic bags. Co-op have their adverts at the tills telling us about whales washing up on shores with 2lb worth of carrier bags in their stomachs that they mistook for food. Tesco have the Green Clubcard points and Sainsbury’s extra Nectar points for customers using their own bags. And everywhere from Asda to Wilkinsons has bags for life, ranging from longer lasting plastic bags to cloth or jute bags, available at the tills.

December saw 7 major supermarkets – Asda, Co-op, Somerfield, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Waitrose and Tesco – join together in a pledge to cut the amount of carrier bags given out by 50% by spring 2009 compared to those given out in 2006, with the ultimate aim being to reduce the figure by 70%. WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) has advised that the actions of the supermarkets has seen 3.5 billion fewer carrier bags being handed out, but the amount of people still using plastic bags is still too high. The majority of bags are only used to transport goods home, and are then destined for landfill, along with the millions of tonnes of other packaging waste generated each year.

For more information about the impact of carrier bags on the environment, visit the Daily Mail or watch the video report on the BBC.

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Destined for the Dump – Supermarkets vs Packaging

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

Findings from Local Government Association research into the amount of packaging supermarkets insist on wrapping goods in has prompted comments from Mike Warhurst, Friends of the Earth’s Senior Waste Campaigner.

Current Government targets allow more than two thirds of plastic waste to be added to the tonnes of rubbish finding its way to landfill every week. Mike Warhurst argues that these targets should be tightened up to make supermarkets use more recyclable materials in the packaging of their goods as well as promoting more responsible food waste disposal.

Many homeowners are already in the habit of separating their waste for kerbside collection, and would no doubt welcome waste plastic recycling. The current system means greater expense being passed on to tax payers, and a greater strain being placed upon existing landfill sites and incinerators.

Although supermarkets have done their best to defend their actions by telling the media about the reductions that have been made, the figures show that even the supermarket with the highest proportion of recyclable material still has another 33% of non-recyclable plastic to account for.

Chairperson for the LGA, Margaret Eaton has proposed, “If retailers create unnecessary rubbish, they should help taxpayers by paying for it to be recycled.” To read more, visit the BBC website.

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