Greenpeace Taiwan is calling on supermarkets to cut down on single-use plastic packaging.
On Friday, the head of Greenpeace Taiwan’s plastic reduction campaign, Chang Kai-ting, said that many companies in Europe and the US have reduced the amount of plastic packaging they use. Chang said this shift has come in response to calls for change from consumers.
She said that Taiwanese consumers, too, now want to see less plastic packaging, and that supermarkets can lead the way in making this happen.
Surveys by Greenpeace Taiwan have found that products ranging from apples to baked goods and ready-to-eat foods are regularly sold in plastic wrap or in plastic bags. Many products also come packaged with plastic plates.
Plastic packaging like this sent to be incinerated, or it may end up in landfills or in the sea. Chang said that consumers’ habits are not hard to change after public awareness grows.
Greenpeace Taiwan says it plans to send petitions to supermarkets and release a list of which supermarkets shoppers most hope to see lead the way in reducing plastic packaging.