The Crisis of Soft Plastic Packaging: Our Role in a Global Problem
- Daniel Piears
- Nov 6
- 2 min read
From bread bags to bubble wrap, crisp packets to cling film, we are still heavily reliant on soft plastic packaging despite the damage it does to the planet after use.
Recycling has been shown to be largely ineffective. We need to reduce our reliance on soft plastics in the first place and encourage reusable packaging.
The Role of Supermarkets
Despite promising to phase out soft plastics, UK supermarkets have been failing to meet their own targets on reducing soft plastic usage. To date plastic packaging has only been reduced by 7% since 2018.
Supermarkets do not have the profit incentive to phase out soft plastic packaging and there is not enough consumer pressure pushing them to change.
This is why it is so important that the government introduce wide-ranging legislation to ban soft plastic packaging.
Lessons from Overseas
In 2022, France introduced a ban on single-use plastic packaging for 30 types of unprocessed fruits and vegetables, estimated to eliminate over a billion unnecessary plastic packages every year. Spain introduced a similar ban on plastic wrapping for fruits and vegetables in 2023.
The UK government has introduced bans on various types of single-use plastics, some of which include soft plastics. However, this does not include most examples of soft plastics, such as fruit and vegetable packaging. Currently only 19% of fruits and vegetables are sold without plastic in UK supermarkets.
What the UK government should be doing about soft plastics
In a recent report conducted jointly by Everyday Plastic and the Environmental Investigation Agency, a range of suggestions were made for the UK government, in advance of any global treaty on plastics, including:
Set legally binding targets to reduce single-use plastic packaging by weight and by unit.
Set legally binding targets on reuse and refill packaging use.
Ban plastic packaging on unprocessed fruit and vegetables by 2030.
Ban all exports of UK plastic waste by 2027.
Introduce an immediate moratorium on new incineration and energy-from-waste capacity across the UK.
Prevent the uptake of chemical recycling as a treatment option for plastic, including packaging.
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Images
apples clear plastic bag - Image by Sophia Marston on Unsplash (ST ref: 1171)
