30 trolleys full of plastic returned to supermarket

Campaigners turned out in force last week to ‘Return the Plastic’ to a local supermarket in a bid to raise awareness about the amount of plastic sold that is not recyclable.

Over 50 people met at Sainsbury’s on Marston Road with non-recyclable plastic they had collected, hoping to encourage the store to reduce the number of plastic products they use.

Following the success of the event, the group plan to meet every month at a different supermarket until the supermarkets ‘clean up their act’.

Mendip District Green Party councillor Shane Collins said, “The demonstration was brilliant, we filled nearly 30 trollies full of plastic. Even shoppers leaving the store stopped and were inspired to take off all the unnecessary plastic on their shopping and put it in the trollies.

“There were also demonstrations in Wells, Bradford on Avon and Warminster, so there is clearly a public appetite for this, so this is going to be a monthly event on the first Saturday of the month.

“In Somerset, Frome Town, Glastonbury Town, Mendip District and Somerset County Councils have all agreed to ban single-use plastic from their activities; Frome’s cafes are moving very quickly towards reducing the amount of plastic they use, so now we must target the biggest culprits and put pressure on them to make changes, which are the supermarkets. We hope for the next event lots more towns will join us and ‘Return the Plastic’ to their supermarkets. This is urgent, this is a crisis and we all have a part to play.”

The next ‘Return the Plastic’ event will take place on Sat. 5th May at the M&S Foodhall in the town centre from 12pm.