I heard that when it comes to excess waste packaging there is real action we can take right away. Waiting for legislation is good, but takes time. While we wait for new laws to be passed to legally force supermarkets to stop massive waste can still act.
Action: Next time you are in the supermarket with products like the bananas we see in the campaign picture, unwrap the item and leave the packaging at the check out counter!!
After hundreds of people start leaving their packaging at the check out the supermarkets might get the message before the laws and legislation force them to get it!
There are no small gestures when were millions doing them!!

I like the action and we already have permission from the former environment minister, Ben Bradshaw:

"This week environment minister Ben Bradshaw urged shoppers to teach supermarkets a lesson by dumping wasteful packaging at the cash till. It's not often a member of the government recommends direct action. What would the big chains make of it? We sent three writers to find out ..."

So, yes, Let's go for it!

This is quite an interesting idea, I will be sure to try this out next time I purchase an over-packaged product.

This has been implemented by Tesco at two supermarkets, putting out two cages to allow shoppers to dump the excess packaging (http://greenvoice.com/campaigns/12-excess-packaging/wikis/9/pages/441). However, surely the responsibility lies with the source of the problem - those adding excess packaging to the products originally.

Ha! I like the till idea! I just tend to try to buy products that aren't ridiculously packaged, I think sainsury's is quite good when it comes to that... But the best place is of course an organic store or market, where everything is smudged into flimsy recycleable paper bags. wooh.

Ha! I like the till idea! I just tend to try to buy products that aren't ridiculously packaged, I think sainsury's is quite good when it comes to that... But the best place is of course an organic store or market, where everything is smudged into flimsy recycleable paper bags. wooh.

why cant we put a deposit on cans and bottles such as beer and soft drinks ? And i dont mean two pence

Yes, that happens in Germany doesn't it? You pay extra for drinks in bottles and when you return them you get that money back. Seems to work pretty smoothly there.

If we start leaving all the unnecessary packaging at the stores i'm sure they will start to get the message.!!

Deposit return bottles used to happen here too and you would not see bottles littering the streets as you do these days as some kids would top up their pocket money by returning them!

Just encourage the local authority to recycle more of our waste. I buy food with as little packaging as possible, and reuse whatever i can salvage. But, there is always some stuff that can't be reused, but it can usually be recycled someplace or other.

It disgusts me the amount of packaging on some items we buy....and not just supermarket items either. There is no need for a lot of it because it is there as convenience. If ALL the supermarkets implement the same practices then shoppers would not leave one supermarket just to shop in another.
Not only is the waste expensive for us, the shoppers, it costs massively for the enviroment in many ways.
The packaging materials have to be delivered to the manufacturers.
The packaging has to be made.
The packaging then has to be sent to various places
The packaging gets throw away and has to be disposed of.

all that to'ing and fro'ing is a drain on energy resources too.

Three issues bug me at the supermarket more than anything..........the provision of FREE bags.....Time they are charged 50p each for!!
The insistence of checkout operators of wrapping some items, such as meat, in ANOTHER smaller bag before we use our bigger bags.
The wrapping of fruit and veg in plastic!

Glad to see more people using their own bags though.

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