German environmental aid: Too much food packaging waste

As of: 01/20/2022 6:49 p.m

Anyone who buys groceries in the supermarket primarily uses disposable packaging. The German Environmental Aid criticizes that this still creates far too much unnecessary waste.

Who does not know that? A few fresh groceries have already been taken off the shelf and the shopping basket is full. Also because, according to an investigation by the German Environmental Aid (DU), the products are still largely offered in disposable packaging.

This creates too much unnecessary waste, the DU announced today in Berlin. The organization examined the offer in 48 branches of twelve supermarket, discounter and organic market chains. Only the organic markets performed satisfactorily. Supermarkets and discounters, on the other hand, often do not implement the simplest measures to reduce waste, it said. Packaged fruit and vegetables and disposable bottles for drinks were criticized.

Not like in the ad

“The classic supermarkets and discounters like to advertise with alleged sustainability – but during our test visits to the branches we found unnecessarily much disposable, too much plastic, too much garbage,” said the Deputy Federal Director of Environmental Aid, Barbara Metz. The principle of voluntary waste avoidance in retail has failed. Legal requirements are necessary to halve packaging waste by 2025.

Metz also called for an additional one-way tax of at least 20 cents on single-use plastic bottles, cans and beverage cartons. “Producing disposable packaging waste must become more expensive and must not be worthwhile.”

Retail is against it

However, the industry refers to ongoing efforts to reduce packaging waste, for example in the case of private labels. The sustainability expert of the German Retail Association, Antje Gerstein, also explained: “Not every packaging can be easily abolished.”

These were used to comply with prescribed hygiene standards or to protect sensitive goods from pressure, damage or spoilage. The retail trade is continuing to research a possible reduction in packaging with the manufacturers. However, stricter legal requirements are not effective because there is a lack of ecologically sensible alternative packaging.

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