Plastic waste is “one of the great environmental scourges of our time”. These are the words of Prime Minister Theresa May, who has pledged to ban all avoidable plastic waste in the UK by 2042.
About 6.3bn tonnes of plastic waste had been generated globally by 2015, with almost 80% of it going to landfills or the natural environment.
And despite extending the 5p charge on single-use plastic bags, major retailers in England still sold 2.1 billion in the last financial year.
In a bid to tackle the problem, the PM has called on supermarkets to introduce “plastic-free” aisles and consider taxes and charges on single-use plastic items like food containers.
But organisations like Greenpeace UK are sceptical about the plan, citing Mrs May’s “vague aspirations” and calling for “concrete action”, such as a bottle deposit return scheme or a “latte levy” on disposable coffee cups.
So what are Britain’s 10 biggest supermarkets doing to combat the “scourge” of plastic.