Asda and Sainsbury’s have come under fire from environmental watchdogs for failing to reduce the excessive number of plastic carrier bags used in their online home deliveries.
A survey by The Grocer found the two supermarkets were actually using more bags than they were six months ago, when they pledged to cut the number of bags per delivery.
Asda was found to use 15 bags to pack 32 items, worse than a previous survey three months ago, which revealed it used 14 carriers for 33 products.
Sainsbury’s used 11 bags for 33 items, five more carriers than in the previous quarter’s online shopping delivery.
However, the report showed that Tesco used just four bags for 33 products, while Waitrose used five.
Friends of the Earth food campaigner Sandra Bell said: “This wasteful use of resources appears to be yet another example of the reality behind the major supermarkets’ green claims.”
But Asda stated it is making efforts to reduce bag use in home deliveries, and a spokesman said: “Hopefully this result is not indicative of other deliveries.” And a Sainsbury’s spokesman said the chain made every effort to ensure as few bags as possible were used, and it was “disappointing that on this occasion our normal policy was not followed”.
No comments yet