Supermarkets warned of over packaging which is increasing council tax bills

According to the latest survey by the Local Government Association (LGA), researchers assessed the packaging of the average shopping basket across eight UK supermarkets and found that 40 percent of the packaging is not easily recycled.

The cost of this is then put on the councils as the excess packaging is estimated to cost £1.8 billion on landfill tax for the 3 years to 2011.

This has lead to an increase in council taxes and this is likely to continue giving the fact that landfill is getting more and more expensive.

In the breakdown of the results, Waitrose had the most packaging and Tesco the least, although Sainsbury’s had the highest amount of packaging that can be easily recycled.

The LGA announced via chairwoman, Margaret Eaton, that in a period of recession supermarkets have an even greater responsibility on shoppers that have hit harder times.

The LGA has called on supermarkets to take a greater interest and more proactive approach working alongside the LGA’s recommendations warning that many consumers have reached the end of their tether regarding carrying so much excess packing home.

The main trend compared to the 2007 survey is that while the weight of food packaging has reduced, the amount that can be recycled has not changed.

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