Retailers should ban plastic shopping bags and introduce plastic-free aisles, new research has suggested.
The independent poll of 2,000 consumers found that more than half (58%) were worried about packaging in general.
As many as 54% believed supermarkets should stop selling plastic bags, 56% wanted them to be scrapped from use in online deliveries and almost two thirds (63%) believed free cardboard boxes should be provided at tills to carry shopping home instead.
The survey, commissioned by cardboard campaign group Beyond The Box, also showed that more than half (56%) of respondents would prefer to shop in stores offering plastic-free aisles.
Seven out of 10 (69%) were annoyed by fresh produce wrapped in plastic, two thirds were irritated by products sold in non-recyclable packaging, and 62% disliked being sold products in plastic trays.
The study also found that one in five mistakenly believed plastic was biodegradable, while three out of 10 (31%) believed it was made from renewable resources.
Read more: Is Waitrose’s plastic-free trial sustainable at scale?
More than half (57%) of shoppers wanted supermarkets, high street shops and online stores to reduce plastic within all parts of the supply chain, while 49% said they now felt better educated about the benefits of sustainable materials like cardboard.
“This new independent research clearly shows that shoppers are now keen for retailers and manufacturers to explore alternatives beyond the status quo, be it by introducing more unpackaged produce or products that come in more sustainable types of packaging,” said Beyond The Box spokesman Andy Barnetson.
“We are already seeing how sustainable and recyclable materials like corrugated cardboard can provide a great alternative for retailers in terms of both packaging and throughout stores - for example to house loose fresh produce - and this is clearly going down very well with shoppers, who are taking an ever-greater interest in the materials being used throughout the supply chain.”
The findings come after Sainsbury’s lowered prices on seven loose fruit & vegetable items last week, following criticism in the BBC’s War on Plastic documentary.
The show, hosted by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Anita Rani, estimated that the UK’s 27.2 million households contain a combined 19.5 billion items of single-use plastic.
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