Following on from the success of Lewes’ first Unpack the Plastic event outside Waitrose in May 2018, shoppers in town are being urged to take back their plastic packaging to supermarkets on every first Saturday of the month as part of a national campaign spearheaded by #notourplasticproblem.

Plastic Free Lewes is lobbying the local supermarkets to reduce their plastic packaging. To increase pressure, it is encouraging shoppers to think about what plastic they could do without – then hand back any excessive packaging to the supermarket it came from.

“Half of the 1.5 million tonnes of plastic waste that UK households generate every year is created by Britain’s leading supermarkets,” says Lynda Durrant of Plastic Free Lewes’s supermarkets group, “The supermarkets can no longer say this is the shopper’s problem to sort out. If we are going to tackle global plastic pollution, the supermarkets have to start taking responsibility for their contribution to it.”

Plastic Free Lewes has produced a leaflet with tips on how to cut down on plastic when shopping, plus a wishlist of actions it would like the big supermarkets to take to tackle plastic waste.

“Half of the 1.5 million tonnes of plastic waste that UK households generate every year is created by Britain’s leading supermarkets,” says Lynda Durrant of Plastic Free Lewes’s supermarkets group, “The supermarkets can no longer say this is the shopper’s problem to sort out. If we are going to tackle global plastic pollution, the supermarkets have to start taking responsibility for their contribution to it.”

Plastic Free Lewes 2019 meeting dates