Packaging Action Day Part 2

As you will probably remember last October I organised a supermarket packaging action at Morrisons in Falkirk as part of Friends of the Earth Scotland's CREW project.

Thanks to everyone who showed up on the day, it was a real success and we managed to get a lot of mentions in local and national media.

Well the time has come to repeat the event. Again groups up and down the country will be organising the same stunt over the same weekend at various locations throughout Scotland for maximum impact and I'd be grateful of your support in the Falkirk area.

The purpose of the event is to raise awareness of the issue of excessive packaging and supermarkets' environmental policies and to urge supermarkets to make changes to their practices of excessive food packaging and inordinate use of plastic bags. Since this is a repeat, it will be interesting to see if Morrisons have implemented any of the changes we called for.

This time round I hope to concentrate on cost as this is at the forefront of everyone's mind now that food and fuel seems to be going up on a weekly basis. Packaging costs households £470 per year – that’s one sixth of the average food budget. We will be calling on supermarkets to reduce the amount of packaging that has to be transported up and down the country, adding to the cost of fuel, and for them to source more food locally so it requires less transport and less protection in the form of packaging.

We will be returning to Morrisons, Hope Street, Falkirk and the date for the action is Saturday 28 June 2008, 2pm.

The plan is for as many people as possible to do their shopping at any Morrisons store in the run-up to the event. I would suggest shopping in the store at least twice prior to the event but feel free to collect excess packaging from 2 full weeks as this is the time period I will be indicating to the manager. The aim is to accumulate a fair amount of excessive packaging - for maximum impact this should be at least 2 carrier bags' worth per person. Do collect it in Morrisons bags to demonstrate that they too contribute to waste.

On the day of the event, we will take the packaging we have collected to the supermarket where we will meet with the manager to return the excess packaging to him and to explain why we are taking this action. Again we will have a petition for the public to sign as this is a good way of getting our message over to shoppers. Hopefully the press and some key local figures (MP, MSPs etc.) will also again attend the event.

There is also an option of dressing up on the day in any way you think demonstrates excess packaging or local food. This is purely optional but if you're feeling creative, please go for it. If anyone wants to dress up as a vegetable or fruit, do let me know as I have a few ideas.

If you are interested in taking part in the event, please get in touch with me and I will send you reminders about when to start collecting waste and when and where we will be meeting. Even if you don't live near a Morrisons store, please do turn up on the day and show your support.

Please also tell any friends and family you think might be interested in taking part or simply turning up on the day.

Corrie Cuthbertson