Help your local Co-op reduce our use of Plastics
Fill in their online survey … all you need is a receipt and a few minutes
You can tell the Co-op how much you appreciate the staff and having a local store in the village (especially in these times)
and also ask them to urgently reduce their use of plastics
The more of us that do this … the more it will get prioritised
- Keep your receipt
- Fill in their online survey
- That’s it!
survey website is also on the receipt www.yourstoreyoursay.com
The Community and the Co-op working together to reduce our impact on our planet
… and tell your friends and neighbours!
Some Plastic Thoughts
It makes no sense to use a material that lasts for hundreds of years just for a few days or weeks.
More than a third of the plastic in our lives comes from our supermarkets.
Don’t just look for packaging alternatives – question packaging itself (which perpetuate the single-use culture). Imagine if all our plastics came from plants. Where would we find the space to grow these plants which won’t even feed us?
What can supermarkets do?
Refills in store: large supermarkets can encourage customers to bring their own containers to buy meat, seafood, staple foods, cleaning products etc.
This means less/no packaging AND customers can choose how much they need, rather than a pre-packaged amount, and are encouraged to buy again by bringing their containers back for a refill. This also reduces supermarkets’ transportation and packaging costs.
Which items simply don’t need ANY packaging? Remove plastic completely from some fruit and vegetables, such as cucumbers, apples, lemons, asparagus.
Some supermarkets “mist” fruit and vegetables with water to help them stay fresh longer without plastic.
Sell items individually/loose (e.g. apples) – no plastic and customers buy only what they need (reducing food waste).
Laser food labelling etched on the skin, instead of the tiny plastic labels (e.g. avocados).
Stop packaged products in packaging! – especially multi-packs.
Offer produce in old-style paper bags, rather than plastic ones.
End the use of black plastic packaging.
Find alternatives to the non-recyclable sandwich containers (which are all made of inseparable plastic-lined cardboard)
Look at removing packaging through the whole food chain and not just in store. For example, deliveries come on large trolleys, wrapped in metres of cling-film
What can we do?
- Make your voice heard – fill in their online survey (above)
- Reduce your own personal use of plastics (and not just single-use plastics)
- Take washable containers to hold fish/meat to fishmongers and butchers
