Environment

Sainsbury's has spoken out in favour of packaging on fresh fruit and vegetables, but admitted it was a difficult message to get across to consumers.

Alison Austin, the multiple's head of brand policy and sustainability, said food waste and packaging were part of the same debate and customers were looking to Sainsbury's to "help them do the right thing by the environment".

But, she said it was difficult to get them to see the importance of getting the balance between food waste and packaging right. "Keeping fruit and vegetables in the fridge, in their original packaging, will give them a longer life and reduce waste," she said.

Austin was speaking at the launch of the Waste and Resources Action Programme's (Wrap) Creating a World of Difference report, where the organisation outlined its achievements in the past two years.

From 1 October, Sainsbury's removed free carrier bags from its checkouts, requiring customer to ask for them, and has also launched a text reminder service to encourage the reuse of carrier bags.

Customers can sign up for a weekly text reminder, giving a specific time, which will be sent to them until the end of the year.

Austin said the retailer did not favour charging for bags having looked at what happened in Ireland following the introduction of a levy.

"We need to get a behavioural change on this issue, but decisions on what to do have to be based on the science and evidence about plastic carrier bags," she added.