I can’t help but feel Waitrose Compostable fruit bags are just a drop in the ocean

[IHopeYouStepOnALegoPiece]

When everything else is in bloody plastic

It will take a little bit of time as supermarkets are only just beginning to make changes. I expect to see a lot of change in the next 5 years with environmental concerns becoming high on the agenda for governments.

Every journey starts with a single step. Yes, there is a long, long way to go, but I think that, once it starts, the pace of change, in this area will speed up. Once people see that some supermarkets can do it for some products, they will demand it for more products in more shops, and you get the opposite of a vicious cycle - a virtuous cycle, maybe.

True, looking at that photo it's hard to not think waitrose is just paying lip service rather than really making a stance against unnecessary plastic.

There is a plan

www.waitrose.com/content/dam/waitrose/Inspiration/About%20Us%20New/Waitrose%20and%20Partners%20Taking%20Action%20On%20Plastics%20April%202019.pdf

You might want to think about your Accidental Analogy....

Their plan is a little misleading, it implies waitrose is behind the changes whereas most are government led. They're not exactly leading the way. "we've reduced the number of bags by 5 million". Well the 5p charge did that for you. We've banned plastic straws, microbeads and plastic cotton buds - only when the government banned them. You're right that things will change within the next 5 years - but again, only because the government have pledged to reduce unnessary plastic by 2023. They will have no choice. I know it's not only waitrose to blame but at least Morrisons have taken a stance.

*unnecessary

You know all the old guff: "The longest journey starts with a single step." "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow" etc. etc.

I often think about the way they made the change with the drinks cups so that everyone had to bring their own or more likely buy one in Waitrose to get the free drinks, but pretty much all their fresh produce and ready made stuff is still in plastic trays with film tops.

It takes little steps and they've taken bigger steps than most other big stores. They're trialling a bulk buy bring your own containers for dried goods at a branch in Oxford.

Things like this is like turning an ship, it takes time.

"we've reduced the number of bags by 5 million". Well the 5p charge did that for you.

It's not just the 5p charge, this lead onto them removing all 5p bags from the tills (as other supermarkets have done too I think)

I don't care what sparked changes or how small the changes appear to be - the point is that there is change. I take net bags to weigh fruit and veg in as before there was only the choice of pre-packed plastic or a non recyclable plastic bag. How is is a bad thing that the single use bags have changed?

Small steps. Little by little.

It's a start I guess.

We have a local crisp company that's using compostable plastic free packets now

Waitrose compostable bags are only compostable if you put them in with compost. They need sunlight & high temps to degrade. In any other environment (ie landfill) they won’t degrade.

I don’t understand why grocery stores don’t revert to paper bags and choosing your own loose produce for the fairly robust fruit & veg, eg there is no need to package cherries in two plastic coverings as it’s easy enough to scoop them yourself into a paper bag from a larger tray, weigh & pay.

"It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little." - Sydney Smith

But arguably they are doing something worse than nothing - they are greenwashing and making us think it’s ok. Compostable plastics are NOT our friend, they are no better than regular plastics as they require very specific industrial processes to degrade which most people won’t be sending their bags to.

eradicateplastic.com/what-are-the-problems-with-biodegradable-plastic/

I just looked at the new Waitrose bags as I thought I could use them as food caddy liners. The printing on them says that you can but they have holes in which makes them useless in my book (flies can get in, stuff can get out). So, back to my net bags and no free caddy liners for me!