Uncategorized

Tesco’s plastic bag pledge is “a drop in the ocean”

Last week’s announcement by Tesco to offer financial incentives to customers for the return of plastic bags to its stores has been dismissed by environmentalists as "PR spin."
Tesco, which has been regularly damned for its record on the environment, hopes that the scheme will convince the public of its commitment to the environment. But the campaign, which features media-friendly faces such as Martine McCutcheon, Frankie Dettori and Alan Titchmarsh taking part in television adverts, has prompted an hostile response from campaign organization Friends of the Earth.

“Even if it meets its target to reduce the number of bags being used, Tesco will still be handing out three billion plastic bags a year. And this is just a drop in the ocean compared to the mountains of packaging waste the chain creates,” said Friends of the Earth supermarket campaigner Sandra Bell. “Until it [Tesco] sets ambitious targets for reducing the mountains of food packaging that it is responsible for, it cannot claim to be making a serious commitment to tackling waste,” she added.