Supermarkets Told To Pay More For Creating Waste

Supermarkets already pay towards recycling depending on the amount of packaging waste they produce.

Supermarkets should be made to pay more for the food packaging waste they create, local councils said on Tuesday, after a survey found almost 40 percent of it was hard to recycle.

The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents 466 authorities in England and Wales, said that while more people were recycling more rubbish, their efforts were being undermined by big retailers.

The cost of waste collection is also pushing up council tax bills, it said.

Supermarkets already pay towards recycling depending on the amount of packaging waste they produce.

"We think the (government) current targets should be toughened so they end up paying for a greater share of waste produced," an LGA spokesman said.

Processing excessive wrapping waste contributes to the 1.8 billion pounds councils will spend on landfill tax between 2008 and 2011, the LGA said.

"If we had less unnecessary packaging, it would cut costs and lead to lower prices at the tills. When packaging is sent to landfill, it's expensive for taxpayers and damaging for the environment," said LGA chairman Margaret Eaton.

A survey examining the weight of packaging of 29 common grocery items at eight supermarkets found Waitrose had the heaviest wrapping while Tesco had the lightest.

The survey, carried out by the British Market Research Bureau on the LGA's behalf, also found Lidl stores had the lowest level of recyclable packing, 58 percent, while Sainsbury's had the highest at 67 percent.

Marks & Spencer is now the second-best supermarket in terms of packaging weight, having been second to last in the previous two surveys.

The LGA said that since its survey two years ago, the weight of food packaging has been reduced overall but the proportion that can be recycled has changed little.

Industry body, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said the survey failed to acknowledge the role packing plays in preserving food, thereby reducing waste.

It also blamed councils for not doing enough to recycle.

"It's a nonsense to suggest that retailers swathe their goods in masses of unnecessary packaging. This would simply be a pointless cost," said Bob Gordon, the BRC's head of environment.