A new survey conducted by the Australian Marine Conservation Society has revealed that supermarkets are charging more by the kilo for fruits and vegetables sold without plastic.
This means that shoppers who are consciously trying to cut down on plastic packaging are paying more to purchase fresh produce compared to those who are purchasing packaged goods.
The conducted study involved 180 volunteers that were sent to supermarkets across the country to survey their plastic footprint.
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The report revealed that, “78 per cent of volunteers conducting shopper surveys for this audit reported that plastic-packaged fresh produce was cheaper than loose produce, when comparing price per kilogram.”
“This price discrepancy not only incentivises customers to choose plastic packaged options, it penalises those who try to shop plastic-free.”
Believe it or not, according to the Minderoo Foundation, Australia is the second-highest generator of single-use plastic waste per person.
Tanya Plibersek, Federal Environmental Minister, will be leading reforms to ensure retailers and suppliers are complying with the “strong regulations.”
Plibersek says that “business must also step up and take greater responsibility for the 6.7 million tonnes of packaging they place on the market every year.”
“I don’t think we should be wrapping fresh produce like bananas and zucchini in plastic.”
This isn’t to say supermarkets are doing nothing.
The report informs us that major supermarkets do have packaging standards to help reduce plastic packaging, however, these standards are primarily applied to home brand lines… but what about third-party suppliers?
Aldi is one of the major supermarkets that is trying to reduce their plastic packaging.
The society’s campaign manager, Shane Cucow, has shared that “Aldi has some enforceable requirements where, if they receive packaging from a supplier that has prepackaged straws and cutlery, for example, then they will return it.”
However, Aldi is the only supermarket enforcing these guidelines, and that’s where our issue lies.
Back in June, Australia’s environment ministers announced their plan to regulate plastic packaging use in 2024 after having discovered that their current guidelines were not making a difference.
These new rules that will be introduced with ensure that not only will packaging waste be reduced, but the packing that is used will have a way to be either reused, recycled, reprocessed or recovered.
