The perils of packaging

Catherine Conway looks at who's doing what in the fight against unnecessary food packaging

Most people would agree that packaging can be pretty useful (unless you want to carry butter home from the shop in your bare hands). But when you look at what it takes to make the packaging, or what happens to it after you’ve binned it, there are obvious problems.

What’s the problem with packaging?

According to DEFRA the UK produces 335 million tonnes of waste annually across all industries. Of this, nearly 30 million tonnes is household waste and around a fifth of this is consumer packaging. When you consider that most of this packaging is used once and then dumped, that’s a lot of waste.

So what is the environmental impact? Well, packaging uses material resources and energy in its production, creating carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. After use, the packaging has to be disposed of. The majority, 74 per cent, of our waste is sent to landfill – i.e. buried in a big hole in the ground.

Waste in landfill emits methane and carbon dioxide (more climate change), polluting both the ground and air near the site. In addition, most of the materials (plastic, glass and metal) simply don't degrade - they end up sitting there, contaminating the soil, for hundreds of years.

There are other ways of dealing with waste: recycling - this is increasing in popularity, but we still only recycle 27 per cent of household waste. Compounding this low rate is the problem of how and where to recycle. Each local authority has different systems and modern packaging is often made of complex laminates rather than simple plastic, thereby rendering it unrecyclable.

And, if you're still not convinced, consider the very real cost to you as a consumer. The Women’s Institute calculated that packaging accounts for 8 per cent of your shopping and adds an extra £480 to your annual household bill.

How much packaging do we really need?

More than 60 per cent of packaging is used for food, where it fulfils some important functions. Used correctly, packaging protects the food, helps keep it fresh for longer, carries important information such as allergy advice and makes it easier to transport.

But, in truth, so much modern packaging is more about branding than product quality - any big-brand Easter egg, for example. Plus there are countless examples of unnecessary and irresponsible packaging - Morrison’s infamous shrink-wrapped coconut is a shiningly shameful example.

Manufacturers and retailers claim that consumers want the security that packaging offers. But public opinions are changing: people are becoming much more aware of packaging's negative impact - on the environment and on their wallets.

Take last year’s MORI survey of 1000 supermarket shoppers: 92 per cent said they wanted a reduction in packaging and 93 per cent wanted a rise in recyclable packaging. Add to this the raft of consumer campaigns, and it would appear that manufacturers and retailers are swimming against the tide.

Who’s doing what?

Both retailers and the government have begun to respond to consumer pressure, with varying results - there is much tighter legislation governing packaging, at national and European levels. And there is a voluntary code of agreement from the big supermarkets, the Courtauld Commitment, pledging to reduce packaging by 2010.

But has this actually translated into a packaging reduction? A cursory look at your local supermarket shelves would suggest not, despite their expensive media campaigns to the contrary.

A survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) compared the volume and proportion of packaging on some typical household purchases from major supermarkets, as well as local retailers and street markets. The proportion of recyclable packaging waste ranged from 60 to 79 per cent. Of the big supermarkets, Asda and Sainsbury’s lead the field with 70 per cent, while Marks & Spencer trailed with 60 per cent.

What are the alternatives?

There are no easy solutions to the problem of excessive packing. For things to change, we all have to take responsibility. Manufacturers must design better products, retailers must use their position to influence change, consumers must think more about what they’re buying and recycle more. And local authorities must invest in better recycling facilities and services.

The best way to tackle excessive packaging is to be picky about what you buy and where you buy it. Shop at local markets and shops, which often use minimal packaging and came out on top in the LGA report (79 per cent recyclable packaging).

Buy fruit and vegetables loose and take reusable bags to carry everything home - considering how unnecessary and easily avoided they are, plastic bags are a big packaging sin. If you need to buy a product that has packaging, check on the back that it can be recycled and try to buy biodegradable.

If you don’t like the way a product is packaged, don't be afraid to speak up. Have a word with the store manager, write to the head of the company that produces it or take it to your local Trading Standards office, which will investigate on your behalf. It is our own apathy that lets companies get away with unnecessary packaging. And in the cutthroat world of supermarkets, where stores can't afford to lose customers to rivals, complaints pack a hefty punch.

There’s no escaping the fact that the UK is a wasteful place. If every country consumed resources at the rate we do, we would need eight worlds' worth of resources to sustain us . But this doesn’t mean you can’t make a difference: everything you buy matters and if you stop to consider the packaging of a product, it's a positive step.

Catherine Conway is founder of eco-wholefood shop Unpackaged