Petition for supermarkets in Malaysia - AEON, Village Grocer & B.I.G., Cold Storage, Hero Market, Giant, Jason’s Food Hall, Jaya Grocer, Mercato, NSK, Tesco, and others – to reduce plastic footprint

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When plastics degrade, their toxic particles contaminate both land and sea, which eventually enter our food and water. Plastic debris also acts like a sponge for toxic chemicals hence contain concentration of often-deadly compounds, harmful to both animals and human.

We call for urgent and immediate action by supermarkets to eliminate non-recyclable plastic and reduce/eliminate single-use plastic packaging.

* Every vote / petition counts *

 Please sign and share this petition today. Thank you.

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SOME FACTS ABOUT PLASTIC POLLUTION

1/ 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic has been produced since plastic was introduced in the 1950s.*

2/ 8 million metric tons (i.e. 8 billion kilograms) of plastic winds up in our oceans each year.*

3/ Nearly 2 million single-use plastic bags are distributed worldwide every minute.*

4/ 1 million plastic bottles are bought every minute around the world. Less than half of those bottles end up getting recycle.*

5/ If plastic production isn’t curbed, plastic pollution will outweigh fish pound for pound by 2050.*

6/ 40% of plastic produced is packaging, used just once and then discarded.

7/ The average Malaysian uses 300 plastic bags per year (Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association). Shoppers in Denmark use an average of four plastic bags a year.#

8/ Global plastic production:#

    1950 – 2.3 million tons

    2015 – 448 million tons

9/ Nearly 1 million plastic beverage bottles are sold every minute around the world.#

10/ About 8% of the world’s oil production is used to make plastic and power the manufacturing of it.#

11/ A person uses a plastic carrier bag on average for only 12 minutes.+

12/ Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute.+

* https://www.earthday.org/2018/03/07/fact-sheet-end-plastic-pollution/

^ https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/05/plastics-facts-infographics-ocean-pollution/ 

# https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/05/plastics-facts-infographics-ocean-pollution/

+ https://conservingnow.com/plastic-bag-consumption-facts/

IMPACT

- Plastics take up to 100-500 years depending on the composition of the plastic. 

- Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade – breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits.

- A plastic bag can take between 400 to 1,000 years to break down in the environment.

- As it breaks down, plastic particles contaminate soil and waterways and enter the food web when animals accidentally ingest them.

- In some ocean locations, there is 46 times more plastic than available food for marine animals.

- Plastic bags cause over 100,000 sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year.

- Nearly 90% of the debris in our oceans is plastic.

- Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation.

-  Plastic debris accumulates persistent organic pollutants (POPs) like PCBˆˆ and DDTˆˆ at high concentrations. Many of these pollutants are known endocrine disruptors. 

- When fish and other marine animals ingest plastic debris, they are also ingesting these toxins.

- If the food we eat is contaminated with toxins, we will be too.

https://conservingnow.com/plastic-bag-consumption-facts/

ˆˆ(Studies show that PCB affects intellectual development and are toxic to the immune system, reproductive organs, and thyroid; while DDT is harmful to the nervous system and is a probably human carcinogen. https://toxicfreefuture.org/science/ chemicals-of-concern/pcbs-and-ddt/)

A recent research showed that billions of people around the globe are drinking water contaminated with plastic particles (The Guardian).

SUPERMARKETS TAKING ACTION

#PlasticFreeAisle Dutch supermarket chain Ekoplaza has a new “plastic-free” aisle that allows customers to buy around 700 items – meat, sauces, produce, yogurt, snacks, cereal, drinks, enough for a week’s worth of groceries – but nothing is packaged in conventional plastic.

No hiding behind recycling In the UK, grocery retailers are responsible for roughly 40% of all plastic packaging. By targeting supermarket shelves, the #PlasticFreeAisle campaign aims to get to the heart of the problem — and not hide behind a plastic recycling band-aid. Recycling is often touted as the answer to pollution, yet the vast majority of the 300 million tons of plastic produced globally each year are not recyclable. Incineration is also a highly compromised solution to plastic pollution, as it releases poisonous chemicals like dioxin, with studies noting higher cancer rates in areas close to waste incinerators.

http://www.dw.com/en/plastic-free-supermarket-aisles-see-anti-waste-go-mainstream/a-42774352

UK - industry-wide initiative to transform packaging and reduce avoidable plastic waste. UK supermarkets are a major source of plastic waste - producing almost 1 million tonnes a year. (www.greenpeace.co.uk). Most of the UK’s largest supermarkets signed up to support the UK Plastics Pact – an industry-wide initiative which says it aims to transform packaging  and reduce avoidable plastic waste. Learn about how supermarkets in the UK like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, and Marks & Spencer tackle plastic pollution: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42652937 

Greenpeace UK suggests retailers should:

§  Eliminate all non-recyclable plastics from own brand products

§  Remove single-use plastic packaging for own brand products

§  Trial dispensers and refillable containers for own brand items like shampoos, house cleaning products, beverages

§  Push national brand suppliers to eliminate non-recyclable plastics and to stop using single use plastic packaging

§  Install free water fountains in-store and water re-fill stations

§  Support deposit return schemes in-store

§  Trial reusable packaging and product refills via home deliveries

(www.bbc.com)

Australia Learn about how supermarkets in Australia like Woolworths and Coles tackle plastic pollution: http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-06-04/coles-pledges-to-wrap-plastic-use-woolworths-bans-straws/9831644

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Toxic plastic particles cause harm to the ecosystem, animals and human. 

We call for urgent and immediate action by supermarkets to eliminate non-recyclable plastic and reduce/eliminate single-use plastic packaging.

* Every vote / petition counts *

 Please sign and share this petition today. Thank you.

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