This year it is expected that the Waste Law and the Royal Containers Decree will be published through which the Spanish government intends to implement the EU waste legislation.
Spain is at a key decision moment on how it will address the plastics crisis. The report calls on supermarkets to stop perpetuating false solutions and greenwashing and invest in true solutions to the plastic crisis, such as plastic reduction, upscaling reuse and actively supporting progressive legislation. In fact, our investigations have revealed that they were mostly found to be lobbying against these true solutions to the plastic crisis. We also found that very few supermarkets were openly supportive of progressive government policies, such as deposit return systems or reuse targets. The quality of data and commitments was especially bad on reusable packaging. Disappointingly, 82% of the companies did not provide even the most basic information, such as their plastic footprint. The other two companies above 40% were Lidl in the UK with 44.7% and Carrefour in France with 41.7%. Only two companies exceeded 60%: Aldi in the UK with 65.3%, and Aldi in Ireland with 61%. The total overall average score achieved by retailers across three categories was only 13.1 points (out of 100) or 13%. Only 39 retailers (30%) provided a written response to the questionnaire and many failed to reply to all the questions asked, therefore we have further investigated publicly available information of over 70 retailers, which are included in this report.
EVEN BETTER TRASH FREE
A coalition of 20 NGOs, members of the Break Free from Plastic movement, contacted 130 retailers across 13 European countries. It reveals that some of the biggest retail chains in Europe are only paying lip service to the problem, while behind the scenes they are trying to delay action and distract consumers and policymakers. This first-ever analysis of the role that European supermarkets play in addressing the plastic pollution crisis, shows disappointing results.
European supermarkets are very important actors when it comes to plastic: with a €2.4 trillion turnover, this sector has the resources to act, and public opinion polls consistently show that citizens firmly believe that retailers have a responsibility to address plastic pollution.
0 kommentar(er)
