Local councils maintain that supermarkets throughout the UK are producing too much packaging, and that as much as 40 per cent of it cannot be recycled.
The Local Government Association (LGA) is saying that the supermarkets should be required to pay for the collection of non-recyclable packaging, as an incentive to cut back on its use.
In a study involving 29 common grocery items, Waitrose was found to have the most wrapping, and Tesco had the least amount.
Waitrose claims, however, that it has cut back on the weight of its packaging by one-third since 2001 and that the results of the report were misleading.
The survey found that Sainsbury’s used the most recyclable packaging, while Lidl used the least.
Since the LGA published its first report in October of 2007, food packaging amounts have decreased overall, but the amount that is recycled has largely remained unchanged.
As people are taking measures to save money, the excess packaging is leading to greater landfill use and higher tax bills, according to the LGA.
Currently, councils pay £32 in landfill tax per tonne of rubbish sent to landfill – a figure which will continue to increase.
LGA chairman Councillor Margaret Eaton has commented that less food packaging would not only make life easier for the supermarkets, it would for consumers as well.
www.lga.gov.uk
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