Skip to content
Plastic from bottled water is soaring, with UK supermarkets revealing they sold more than one billion plastic water bottles in 2018.
Supermarkets surveyed by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Greenpeace have reported that sales of plastic water bottles increased 8.2% from the six leading supermarkets, which provided year-on-year figures.
None of the top 10 UK supermarkets offer water dispensers across all stores for customers to refill their own reusable bottles.
‘Single-use water bottles might seem convenient but their impact on the environment is anything but.
‘There’s untapped potential for a refill revolution in the drinks market. We urge supermarkets to work with brands to make these options available and accessible to customers across the country.’
JULIET PHILLIPS
Ocean campaigner for EIA
Campaigners are calling for retailers to drastically cut plastic water bottle sales and install water dispensers in store. Retailers must also force brands to offer soft drinks from refill stations so customers can refill their own bottles and help themselves.
The forthcoming report, ‘Checking out on plastics II: Breakthroughs and backtracking from supermarkets on plastics’, will be published on Thursday 28 November.
It reveals that six supermarkets reported they sold 788.3m bottles in 2017, and eight supermarkets sold 1.04bn bottles last year.
Asda and Sainsbury’s did not report how many bottles of water they sold in either year.
Customers at Tesco, Aldi and Lidl do not have access to water dispensers. Where other supermarkets offer taps, they’re limited to cafés or are only available in new stores.
Aldi, Iceland, Tesco and Waitrose all increased their sales of plastic water bottles between 2017 and 2018. At Iceland plastic water bottle sales increased by 20.5m, up more than a fifth.
‘Plastic bottles and caps are the top plastic items polluting our beaches, yet despite this UK supermarkets keep selling more and more of them. This has to stop.
‘Supermarkets need to get throwaway plastic water bottles off their shelves and enable customers to fill up their own bottles in store, from water or soft drinks dispensers.’
FIONA NICHOLLS
Ocean plastics campaigner for Greenpeace UK
Campaigners support the installation of refill stations for soft drinks. These could replicate those on offer in food outlets like Nando’s or Subway.
The Dasani water brand is already rolling out self-service machines in the US, and some supermarkets already offer similar machines for branded coffee, such as Costa. A third option for refill stations could be in the form of soft drinks hoses, as are common in pubs.
Recycling collection rates for plastic bottles in the UK are stagnant at around 59%, demonstrating the need to drastically reduce how many plastic bottles we’re making in the first place, as well as the importance of improving plastic bottle recycling.
Former Environment Secretary Michael Gove had backed an all-inclusive deposit return scheme for bottles, but the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has since distanced itself from plans for an all-in scheme.
EIA and Greenpeace are calling for reduction and reuse strategies to be complemented by the introduction of an all-inclusive deposit return scheme which covers cans and bottles of all sizes and materials.
Click here to read our article about how supermarkets rank for plastic.
Sorry we don't have any suggested related content at the moment. Please check back later.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Weekly ethical news, offers, comps and a free digital mag (quarterly) – what’s not to love?
