Tesco has said it will continue using plastic bags rather than paper ones for loose fruit, vegetables and bakery items – sparking a backlash from green-conscious shoppers.
The supermarket giant is refusing to join rivals Sainsbury’s and Morrisons in phasing out the carriers over pollution concerns, insisting that paper bags actually have a larger carbon footprint.
British supermarkets handed out more than a billion small plastic bags for loose produce last year, producing thousands of tonnes worth of non-degradable waste that risks swamping the oceans and harming marine life.
Tesco is refusing to join rivals Sainsbury’s and Morrisons in phasing out plastic bags for loose fruit, vegetables and bakery items
The supermarket insists paper bags (like the ones pictured) are less environmentally friendly because they have a larger carbon footprint
Shoppers have repeatedly attacked Tesco for continuing to provide the plastic carriers despite their contribution to pollution, with some threatening a boycott.
One Twitter account dedicated to exposing plastic pollution shared a photo showing a pile of heavily packaged vegetables inside a Tesco and wrote: ‘This is unacceptable… horrifying pollution.’
However, Tesco representatives have responded to customer complaints by claiming plastic bags were a better option for the environment.
In one Twitter post, a Tesco customer service member said they had been ‘demonised by plastic critics’ despite emitting less carbon into the atmosphere during their life cycle than paper ones.
Why paper bags can be WORSE for the environment than plastic ones
Paper bags are biodegradable, so will not stay around in the natural environment for hundreds of years like plastic.
Yet some people argue they are less green than plastic ones alternatives for the following reasons:
- They require more energy to produce – four times the amount required for plastic, according to research from the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2011;
- They weigh more, so take more energy to ship around;
- They aren’t as durable, and have to be replaced more frequently than plastic due to rips and tears.
Experts say the best approach is to abandon single-use plastic and paper bags and bring reusable ones every time you shop.
The supermarket did not respond to requests to comment directly about the issue, but it has previously urged shoppers to recycle plastic bags in store or hand them to a delivery driver.
Meanwhile, environmental charities today urged supermarkets to abandon throwaway bags altogether and encourage customers to bring reusable ones instead.
‘Tesco’s excuse for sticking with polluting plastic bags just doesn’t wash,’ Greenpeace plastic campaigner Sam Chetan-Welsh told MailOnline. ‘Yes, paper bags do have their own environmental impact, but they aren’t the only solution available.
‘Most fruits and vegetables come already wrapped in their own natural packaging, skin or peel, and produce bags are simply used to make scanning products at the till easier, not to preserve freshness or extend shelf life.
‘Supermarkets should encourage customers to bring their own reusable bags to stores and do away with pointless throwaway plastic. As the largest UK supermarket chain, Tesco should be leading from the front, not tiptoeing behind everyone else.’
Research commissioned by the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2011 found it took more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag than a plastic one.
Paper bags weigh more than plastic, so it takes more energy to transport them, and are made using toxic chemicals. They also require trees to be cut down and release carbon dioxide when they rot.
However, unlike plastic, they degrade in the natural environment, posing less of a threat to wildlife.
Shoppers have regularly criticised Tesco for continuing to hand out small plastic bags in shops
However, Tesco representatives have responded to customer complaints by saying they will not stop using them
Laura Foster, from the Marine Conservation Trust, said: ‘The impacts of single-use plastics on our marine environment have been widely publicised, animals are at risk of entanglement and ingest plastic which results in plastic becoming part of our food chain.
‘While it’s really important for single-use plastics to be phased out of our shopping experience, replacing these products with more disposable items isn’t the solution.
‘Paper bags for example, can incur greater carbon emissions in production than plastic bags. As such, it’s important that behaviours change and we move away from single use to reusables.’
Sainsbury’s announced in June that it would remove plastic bags for loose fruit, vegetables and bakery items from all stores, offering paper and re-usable bags made from recycled materials instead.
In May, Morrisons said it would introduce plastic-free fruit and vegetable sections in 60 stores, with the option to buy them use or put them in paper bags.
Greenpeace said: ‘Tesco’s excuse for sticking with polluting plastic bags just doesn’t wash’. File photo
MailOnline understands Tesco has not ruled out introducing paper bags for loose fruit and vegetables in the future.
A spokesperson said: ‘We’re taking action to remove all non-recyclable and excess packaging in our business. Where we can’t remove it, we reduce it to an absolute minimum and look to reuse it.
‘We are working to ensure whatever is left can be recycled. If packaging can’t be recycled, it will have no place in our business. For example, we’ve stopped offering carrier bags with our online deliveries. This means 250 million fewer bags every year.’
