We want to be able to shop in a Plastic Free Aisle.

We are the plastic generation and we are all addicted to plastic. But even if we want to change, it is almost impossible to do so. In a world where we have more choice than ever before, if you want to shop for food not packaged in plastic, you soon realise you have no choice. You can buy gluten free, dairy free, fat free; but you cannot easily buy plastic free. We can’t go on like this. That’s why we’re calling on Britain’s supermarkets to kick-start the fightback by introducing a Plastic Free Aisle in their stores.

Plastic is an amazing material but it is not designed for single-use. Every piece of plastic ever made – unless it has been burned – still exists. Our decades-long addiction to plastic packaging has had a profound impact on the world we live in. On land and in the sea, plastic pollution is everywhere. Plastic debris contaminates our food supply, fills our oceans and kills plants and animals.  

A third of all fish caught off the coast of South West England are thought to contain traces of plastic. Yet despite a wealth of damning evidence, the impact of plastic on human health is often overlooked. Last year, a United Nations Environment Project report warned that people who consume plastic-contaminated fish may be exposed to chemicals that can cause poisoning, infertility, and genetic disruption.

Recycling is often heralded as the answer to the pollution problem, yet the vast majority of the 300 million tonnes of plastic produced globally each year remain unrecyclable. At least two-thirds of plastic packaging in the UK is not recycled with much of it actually unrecyclable. It will be too many years before recycling can ever catch up with our escalating rate of consumption.

Incineration also falls way short of a viable solution to plastic pollution. When plastic is burned, a cocktail of poisonous chemicals is released. Large studies have also shown higher rates of childhood cancer and birth defects around waste incinerators.

A cultural shift away from single-use plastic to biodegradable materials is achievable with the support of the UK’s food retailers. Britain’s supermarket chains have made some progress in recent years on nudging shoppers away from plastic bags, but could still do much more to stem the tide of pollution. 

We’re calling for supermarkets to introduce a Plastic Free Aisle in their stores. This will give shoppers the chance to reject goods laden with plastic, in favour of better, healthier alternatives. This is not about telling people how to live their lives. It is simply giving people a choice - a choice to buy their food free of plastic.

If you want a Plastic Free Aisle, please support this petition and let us work together to start to reverse the plastic problem we are all responsible for creating.

To learn more about the campaign for a Plastic Free Aisle, please visit www.aplasticplanet.com