Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Grenfell (Labour). It was answered on Wednesday, 7 September 2011.

Environment: Litter and Waste

Question: Would it not be possible to reduce the use of plastic bags if more could be done to encourage the producers and manufacturers of goods that are sold in supermarkets to stop packaging them as if they were mothballing an aircraft carrier?

Answer: Again, it is not as simple as all that. We do encourage them to reduce packaging as much as possible. However, the noble Lord will find that some packaging actually does end up reducing waste. If one takes something as simple as a cucumber, wrapping it in plastic ends up reducing the amount of cucumber that is wasted because it goes off compared to the cucumber that is unwrapped. This is a simple fact. So packaging can play its part in reducing waste, and we will work with the supermarkets and others to make sure that, while packaging is reduced, packaging can also play its part in reducing waste.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 730 c275
Session: 2010-12
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Biodegradability Labelling Litter Standards Waste disposal Street cleaning Plastic bags
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk