Stores ’should disclose packaging’

Supermarkets should be forced to disclose the amount of packaging they produce, town hall chiefs said.

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According to councils, the plastic covering on food and drink products adds millions of pounds to people’s tax bills as the cost of waste disposal rises.

Although supermarkets log the amount of packaging they use with the Government’s waste reduction body Wrap, only three stores – Morrisons, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer – responded to requests by the Local Government Association for the details to be made public.

In a letter to Environment Secretary Hilary Benn, the LGA, which represents over 350 councils in England, called for the information to be published every three months so shoppers could “see hard evidence to back up supermarkets’ claims that they are taking the problem of packaging seriously”.

Of the remaining five supermarkets the LGA contacted, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Co-op referred councils to Wrap, while Lidl did not reply.

Wrap provided details about how it verified figures but failed to disclose packaging data on individual supermarkets, the LGA said.

Councils say their efforts to recycle are being undermined by supermarkets using excessive packaging, which adds to the estimated £1.8bn local authorities will spend on landfill tax between 2008 and 2011.

In her letter to Mr Benn, Cllr Margaret Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “Supermarkets must be open with people about how much packaging they are producing.

“It is vital that consumers can make informed choices about where they shop and which products they buy.

“The public needs to see hard evidence to back up the claims of supermarkets that they are taking the problem of packaging seriously, that their claims to be cutting packaging are real and that targets are effective.