Green Campaigners Protest Single-Use Plastic

Left packaging at Brentford's Morrisons with a suggestion to reduce it

Local Green party activists and supporters marked Earth Day on 22nd April by protesting against the amount of single-use plastic used in supermarkets to wrap food.  Plastic pollution causes damage to the environment, particularly in the oceans, where vast quantities end up.

The group went to Morrisons in Brentford and bought fruit and vegetables wrapped in plastic.  After paying for their produce they took off the unwanted plastic and left it with the duty manager with a polite note to suggest that alternative packaging should be used.

Victoria George, who organised the event and is standing in the local elections in Brentford said “Our action is aimed at supermarkets, their suppliers, and government, who all make choices that directly impact the amount of plastic pollution.  We also demand that the council improve plastic recycling facilities.  At present, Hounslow’s system means that we cannot recycle ‘soft’ plastic like cling-film and carrier bags from home, so most people are putting this in their wheelie bins and it goes to landfill. One of Labour’s five pledges is to make recycling easier but it is unclear what that will actually mean.  Our litter bins are often overflowing with plastic bags and containers.

"Morrisons have been very co-operative, and agree that the time has come for change. We chose this supermarket because we are local residents and shoppers, not to single them out.  In fact we would like to thank them for their help.

“I feel passionately about this issue and feel that it's every person and every organisation's duty to reduce plastic use.  Britain’s supermarkets create more than 800,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste every year and some of this is blown into the ocean”

Simon Davenport, who is standing for the Green Party for Hounslow South said:

“As a dive master I have seen first-hand the impact being wrought globally by plastic pollution.  As well as the damage to marine life, plastic threatens fishing, shipping and tourism”.

May 1, 2018