'Leave it at the till' is the message from a group of locals fed up with the excessive, ocean-destroying plastic packaging that covers groceries bought in our supermarkets. They descended on Morrison's supermarket in Brecon today (Saturday 2nd December) to show shoppers how they can help to create a plastic-free Powys.
The action, instigated by Llangynidr plasterer, Mick Lewis, and County Cllr Emily Durrant, (pictured above) saw the group select their groceries and then remove every piece of plastic packaging at the check-out. They left the plastic for the multi-million pound corporation to deal with,
Mick Lewis stating: “It shouldn’t be up to time-pressured individuals and a squeezed public purse to deal with all this pointless and destructive plastic packaging.
“Why should we have to try and work out what goes in the red box and what can’t? Why should we have to drive miles to recycle plastic film? We shouldn’t, retailers and manufacturers should just stop using plastic altogether.
“Until they do, we want everyone to start rejecting it at the checkout. Leave the plastic at the till!”
Cllr Emily Durrant said: “There are perfectly good alternatives available that can be manufactured from waste products and perform just as well as this outdated packaging that is killing our oceans.
“Alternatives, such as PHA bio plastics, are marine degradable and can even act as fish food. They have no toxic effects on our oceans and biodegrade on land. It is a no-brainer that companies invest in this instead of continuing to lumber us and our councils with a terrible problem of how to deal with plastic waste.
“We’re calling for a plastic-free Powys. Leave it at the till folks!”
Grenville Ham, Leader of the Wales Green Party attended on Saturday and said: “There are various ways to make Plastic-free Powys a reality and the supermarkets could help start this process by offering a plastic-free check-out.”
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