A report released by Greenpeace, Washington, D.C., revealed that 20 of the largest U.S. grocery retailers fail to adequately address the plastic pollution crisis they are contributing to.
The study, “Packaging Away the Planet,” evaluated retailers on their policies, plastic reduction efforts, innovation and initiatives and transparency.
“Grocery retailers across the country sell obscene amounts of products in throwaway plastics every single day, yet none of them are acting with the urgency needed to address the pollution crisis they’re causing,” says David Pinsky, plastics campaigner. “Not only do these companies have the resources to reimagine their stores with re-fill and re-use systems, they can use their buying power to pressure consumer goods companies to act as well. The question is whether retailers will take responsibility for this mess, and act.”
This report utilized a combination of publicly available information and survey responses to formulate the retailers’ scores. None of the supermarkets scored above 35 out of 100 this year.
“It’s not enough for a retailer to eliminate plastic straws or make small changes to produce bags and walk away from this issue,” says Pinsky. “Retailers must develop comprehensive public policies to eliminate single-use plastics and remain transparent with customers as they implement those plans.”