South East MEP's Scrap the Wrap Campaign Goes National

10.51.39am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 26th Jan 2007

A South East Euro-MP is demanding that supermarkets slash unnecessary packaging to reduce Britain's huge waste mountain.

Latest figures show that 4.6 million tons of packaging waste are increasing local grocery bills and choking landfill sites across the country.

Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Menzies Campbell yesterday challenged supermarkets to come clean on the amount of waste they are producing and to draw up plans to reduce it.

He is being backed by local Liberal Democrat Euro-MP Sharon Bowles who has launched her own 'scrap the wrap' campaign against fruit and vegetables wrapped in plastic coverings.

Although EU rules are sometimes blamed for cucumbers, apples and even swedes being sold in shrink-wrapped plastic sleeves, Sharon Bowles says that the fault lies entirely with British supermarkets.

"There is no EU requirement for fruit and vegetables to be sold like this, and it doesn't happen to the same extent in other European countries. Our supermarkets are simply obsessed with producing excessive packaging."

Challenged by Sharon Bowles to explain why cucumbers are now wrapped in plastic, major supermarket chains claimed that they were responding to consumer demand and extending the shelf life of the product.

But Mrs Bowles claims that the packaging is unnecessary. She said:

"Cucumbers were provided by nature with a tough green skin to keep them fresh and protect them from damage. They do not need any help.

"It's time the supermarkets stopped making false claims about consumer preferences and asked people directly whether they want so much packaging. Everyone who returns from a supermarket shop to find themselves buried in unwanted packaging will give them a very strong response.

"Supermarkets like Marks & Spencer and Tesco have announced some very positive environmental initiatives in recent weeks. But if they are really to be part of the solution they must demonstrate that they can reduce volumes of waste inflicted upon us."

ENDS