We are calling for all UK supermarkets to remove plastic packaging from five fruit & veg products so shoppers can #ChooseLoose.

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Potatoes, apples, bananas, carrots and onions are the top five most wasted fruit & veg products in UK households. Over a one-year period, it is estimated that selling these five items loose (unpackaged) would:

Prevent an estimated 1.7 billion pieces of plastic packaging could be prevented from being thrown away.
Avoid more than 77,000 tonnes of uneaten food by allowing people to buy what they need.
Save shoppers a combined total of over £85m in wasted food

Removing plastic packaging from these five fruit & veg products is not only a simple, effective and proven way to reduce the effects of the plastic problem, but it can also cut food waste and save us money.

Right now, the industry still argues that plastic packaging protects our food in transit, extends freshness, prevents spoilage and reduces waste. Something doesn’t add up…

In 2022, a report by WRAP recommended that UK supermarkets “sell uncut fresh fruit & veg loose unless there is a compelling reason not to”. Despite strong evidence and retailers’ commitment to reducing their plastic footprint, none of them has taken action. Between 2004 and 2015, food waste in European households almost doubled while plastic packaging increased by 25%. This is no coincidence.

Our European neighbours are taking steps. Back in January 2022, France banned 30 fruits and vegetables from being wrapped in plastic packaging. This year, Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg will join them. It’s time for the UK to do the same.

Potatoes. Apples. Bananas. Carrots. Onions

Have you ever had to throw out a bag of sprouting potatoes or onions? Have your carrots, bananas or apples gone a bit bendy, over-ripe or wrinkly before you’ve got around to using them?

Well, you’re not alone. These five fruits and vegetables are the most wasted fresh products in UK homes.

Why should you support this?

The benefits of selling these five fruit & veg products loose are huge. Over a one-year period, removing plastic packaging from potatoes, apples, bananas, carrots and onions could…

Remove an estimated 1.7 billion pieces of plastic.
Prevent 77,000 tonnes of household food waste.
Save shoppers a combined total of over £85m in uneaten food
Stop 25,000 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted.
Help to demonstrate that a low-waste business model is possible, promoting more responsible consumption and a shift away from our throwaway culture.

But what does #ChooseLoose mean for you? You could…

Choose your own – decide on the size and condition of your fruit & veg to meet your personal requirements or standards – big or small, muddy or clean, straight or wonky.
Choose how many – by buying the exact quantity of fruit & veg you need, you will save money and prevent food waste.
Choose loose – reduce the unnecessary, often hard-to-recycle, plastic packaging waste that just ends up in the bin.

Why is this so important?

In May 2022, The Big Plastic Count revealed that over 1m pieces of fruit & veg packaging were thrown away by nearly 100,000 households across the UK in one week. Averaging over 10 bits of fruit & veg packaging per household per week, If household averages were typical of every home in the UK, almost 300m pieces of plastic fruit & veg packaging would be thrown away each week – equivalent to around 14bn pieces per year.
Last year, WRAP published a report which showed that packaged fruit & veg not only generates greater amounts of unnecessary plastic packaging waste but is complicit in increasing food waste too. On average, 29% of fresh fruit & veg purchased by households in the EU is wasted. Globally, we currently waste 2.5bn tonnes of food annually – almost half (46%) of which is thrown-out fruit & veg.
Through supermarkets, we have almost limitless access to food in the UK. Packaged fruit & veg forces people to buy too much, meaning we spend more money on food that we end up having to throw away. All this at a time when grocery inflation has hit record levels amidst a cost-of-living crisis in which over 2 million people are using food banks. Buying the exact quantity of fruit & veg you need will help you save money, but pricing of loose produce is poorly communicated, inconsistent and incomparable.
Food waste is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for up to 10% of the world's total emissions. When we throw food away, it rots and releases methane, a greenhouse gas with 80 times the warming power of CO2. To compound that, as plastic is made from fossil fuels (oil and gas), the production, use and disposal of plastic packaging is having a major impact on the climate crisis – predicted to contribute 15% of global emissions by 2050.

How will we use your voice?

Removing plastic packaging from fruit & veg products is a big and complex task. Supermarkets have made voluntary commitments to eliminate plastic packaging from fresh produce through the Plastics Pact, but they are not acting fast or urgently enough.

By signing your name, you’ll help us to prove that loose fruit & veg is not only what we need, but also what we want. Alongside our partners at City To Sea, we’ll deliver the signatures to supermarkets as evidence of public demand, and we’ll work with supermarkets to accelerate the transition to packaging-free produce.

Add your voice today – call on supermarkets to increase the availability and affordability of packaging-free fruit & veg so that all of us can #ChooseLoose.