Single-use packaging adds £600m each year to Scots’ shopping bills

Scots are spending £640 million a year buying – and then disposing of single-use packaging, new research has estimated.
Plastic water bottles. Picture: SWNSPlastic water bottles. Picture: SWNS
Plastic water bottles. Picture: SWNS

Scots are spending £640 million a year buying – and then disposing of single-use packaging, new research has estimated.

Work by the charity Zero Waste Scotland estimated that the total cost to consumers of single-use packaging, including plastic bottles and other containers, is £600m.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

With spending on that “hidden” in the overall cost of groceries, campaigners are 
calling for shoppers to be 
given more information on how much the packaging
for everyday products adds up to.

In addition, people are also paying about £40m a year to cover the costs incurred by councils of collecting and then disposing of these items.

Michael Lenaghan, environmental policy officer at Zero Waste Scotland, said: “It’s easy to think of packaging as 
part of the product we want, rather than a product in its own right.

“In truth, when we buy 500ml of shampoo, we’re also buying a 500ml shampoo bottle, but the cost of that bottle is not evident. Packaging is not free. Add it all up and the average consumer spends a lot on single-use packaging.

“And all this single-use packaging doesn’t just come with a cost for consumers, it also brings a significant cost to the environment.

“To be clear, the point of this is not to say that packaging is inherently bad, but that it is inherently a product, and like any other product, consumers can make more informed decisions about whether the service provided is worth the cost, if that cost is made clear upfront.”

He added: “If consumers knew what they paid for packaging, research suggests they would be more inclined to seek unpackaged products, and reusable packaging options, irrespective of their sustainability concerns.

“This in turn could encourage product manufacturers and retailers to find ways of reducing and eliminating single-use packaging, resulting in cost savings for the consumer and environmental benefits for the planet.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Iain Gulland, Zero Waste Scotland’ chief executive, said: “Packaging is often seen as essential to protect products and, like other techniques from pasteurising to freezing, it can also prolong the shelf-life of food.

“However, too many products come in packaging which is unnecessary and single-use, generating significant emissions and waste.

“We advocate avoiding any packaging which is not needed.

“Where it is needed, we must look to more circular solutions.”

Related topics: