YOUR shopping basket could look different in years to come as supermarkets clampdown on plastic waste.
Major supermarket brands have agreed to scrap packaging on fruit and veg by 2025 and are taking other actions to prevent waste – here is how it could affect your shopping.
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From best buy dates to plastic packaging, millions of tonnes of food waste is created each year.
Food charity Wrap is trying to combat this by working with supermarkets to reduce waste, particularly unnecessary plastic use.
For example, many supermarkets sell fruit and vegetables wrapped in singe-use plastic when it could be better for the environment and reduce waste if sold loose.
The charity estimates that selling fresh produce loose and removing date labels could prevent 14million shopping baskets worth of food from going to waste and 1,100 rubbish trucks of avoidable plastic.
It could also save you money in the long-run as the less you waste, the more you have to buy at your next shop.
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Here is what supermarkets are doing to reduce waste and help people shoppers purchase what they need.
Loose fruit and veg
Wrap estimates that selling uncut fresh produce loose could prevent around 10,300 tonnes of plastic being wasted.
If all apples, bananas and potatoes were sold loose, it could save 60,000 tonnes of food waste and could reduce plastic packaging by 8,800 tonnes per year, Wrap said.
Combined, this would save more than 80,000 tonnes of C02 emissions.
Major supermarkets have agreed to work with WRAP on scrapping packaging on fruit and veg by 2025.
Some have already taken action.
Tesco and Asda have started using a new plant-based protection that could double the shelf life of fresh produce.
Asda will use the technology, named Apeel, in 150 stores to protect citrus fruits and avocados.
Tesco said it will introduce Apeel to 80 Tesco Extra and Superstores in the Peterborough area.
Best before dates
WRAP estimates that £2.1 billion of fresh fruit and vegetables are thrown away before they are even prepared or cooked because people are over-reliant on best before dates.
It suggests removing best before labels on uncut fresh product.
Removing date labels from apples, potatoes, bananas, cucumbers and
broccoli alone could save 50,000 tonnes of food wasted in the home, every year, WRAP said.
It would also save money on your food shop as shopper may throw less food away, meaning they don’t have to stock up as much.
Separately, Morrisons has scrapped “use-by” dates on milk and asked customers to use a sniff test to check if it’s gone off.
The supermarket is instead using best before dates on 90% of its own-brand milk packaging.
Baby wipes
It is not just food waste and plastic packaging that are environmental concerns.
Campaigners also worry about the unnecessary use of plastic in non-food products such as baby wipes.
Millions of wet wipes are sold in the UK every year, including make-up removal and surface cleaners.
Friends of the Earth said the wipes contributed to “the tide of plastic waste that pours into our environment every year, threatening wildlife and blighting our neighbourhoods”.
Tesco has said that it will no longer have branded baby wipes containing plastic in its stores by March 14.
It comes after the retailer made its own-brand wipes plastic-free two years ago. They now contain plant-based viscose that breaks down quicker in landfill.
Health store Holland and Barrett banned wet wipe products from its 800 stores more than two years ago.
Waitrose and Sainsbury’s say their own wipes are 100% plastic-free.
Aldi have said they will remove single-use plastic from all its own-brand wipes by the summer.
Similarly, Morrisons told The Sun that all of their wet wipes will be made using a plant-based viscose by June 2022.
See how committed retailers are to the environment in Which?’s first supermarket sustainability rankings.
Here are 15 foods where you can ignore best buy dates.
If you’re concerned about wasting food, there are several apps you can use to help you save money.
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