Left Holding the Bag
A Survey of Plastic Packaging In Canada’s Grocery Stores
INTRODUCTION
A trip to the grocery store is a frustrating experience for people who want to avoid single-use plastic packaging. Our food is increasingly encased in throwaway plastic at a time when governments in Canada and around the world are committing to address the plastic pollution crisis and related human health risks.
To identify trends in the plastic packaging we face when we shop for food, Environmental Defence commissioned surveys of high-traffic grocery stores across Canada, including Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro and Walmart, two years apart. The most recent survey was conducted in the summer of 2024.
We looked at key shelves, including produce, baby food and soups.
Key Findings
- Plastic packaging has jumped by 6 per cent or more on the baby food and soup shelves between our first survey, in 2022, and 2024.
- Plastic packaging still dominates in the produce section, wrapping 70 per cent of all items. There was a slight increase in the amount of unwrapped produce, which rose from 27 per cent in 2022 to 29 per cent in 2024. Empire and Metro’s chains led the way in unpackaged fruits and vegetables, at 38 per cent and 36 per cent respectively. Loblaw had the lowest proportion of unwrapped produce, at only 17.8 per cent.
- Despite promises by retailers to reduce the amount of non-recyclable single-use plastic packaging, only 14 per cent of the packaging found in the audit is widely recycled in Canada. The vast majority is destined for landfills or waste incinerators if it is not littered directly into the environment.
- NEW for 2024: We audited multi-pack beverages to gauge the impact of the federal ban on six-pack rings, which came into effect in June. We found 38 per cent of soft drink six- and eight-packs held together with plastic wrap — a regrettable replacement for six-pack rings.
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Plastic in the Baby Food Aisle (2024)
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Plastic in the Produce Department (2024)
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Plastic in the Soup Aisle (2024)
Findings by Department
Plastic-wrapped Peppers, Parsley & Pears
The 2022 audit found 71 per cent of items in the produce department were packaged in plastic, including whole fruits and vegetables. Only 27 per cent of items were available with no packaging. From individually-wrapped coconuts, squash and cucumbers to bags and pouches for citrus fruits, bananas and peppers, plastic-wrapped whole fruit and vegetables have become an unnecessary norm. When we returned in 2024, we were disappointed to see the amount of plastic in the produce section remained essentially unchanged, now sitting at 70 per cent.
Alternatives
- No packaging: fruits and vegetables come in their own casings of peel, husk, rind or shell.
- Where packaging is needed (e.g., berries and prepared food), make it reusable.
Purées in Pouches
More than three-quarters of all items marketed as baby food were packaged in plastic in 2022. This includes a significant number of plastic pouches now used for purées that were once almost exclusively packed in glass jars. Disturbingly, this number is even higher now in 2024, jumping to a whopping 82.5 per cent.
Food consumed directly from plastic packaging is a source of microplastics. Babies and young children, who are particularly vulnerable to toxic chemical exposures, fed from single-use plastic-wrapped food and containers are likely ingesting microplastic particles and chemical plastic additives.
Plastic packaging demands closer scrutiny and action to protect this vulnerable group from the health effects of microplastics and toxic additives.
Alternatives
- Glass and paper, ensuring that plastic and chemical additives are not used in closures or lining of the packaging.
- Safe reusable containers that can be returned to the store for cleaning and refilling.
Beverages Bound in Plastic
This year, we decided to visit a new aisle. We audited multi-pack beverages to gauge the impact of the federal ban on six-pack rings, which came into effect in June. We found 38 per cent of soft drink 6- and 8-packs held together with plastic wrap – a regrettable replacement for six-pack rings.
Alternatives
- Paperboard rings or cardboard boxes.
- Allowing shoppers to choose how many beverages they need by adding no secondary packaging at all.
Is the Soup Aisle Safe?
Soups were the least likely items to be packaged in plastic 2022, at 35 per cent, but our most recent audit found 41 per cent of the soup aisle is now packaged in plastic. If this trend continues, the majority of soups will soon be packaged in plastic or mixed materials, such as Tetra Pak, instead of more recyclable cans.
We need Action on Plastic in the Grocery Store
It is clear that Canada’s major grocery retailers will not voluntarily eliminate throwaway plastic on their shelves. Instead — and despite the growing concern about plastic pollution and the impacts of plastics on the environment and our health — the grocery industry is doubling down on garbage plastic packaging.
Canada needs requirements for grocery chains to reduce unnecessary plastic, go package-free wherever possible and adopt accessible and convenient systems that allow refilling of packaging and containers.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Without urgent interventions, plastic pollution from groceries will only increase, as will the risks to our health and the environment
Federal action needed on plastic food packaging:
- Ban single-use plastic packaging materials that are not recycled at scale and have no prospect of effective and safe recycling, including overwrap for multi-packs, stand-up pouches, mesh bags and foam packaging.
- Finalize the Pollution Prevention Plan notice for major grocery retailers that requires targets for refillable packaging by 2030.
- Ban groupings of hazardous chemicals from plastic packaging and products, including bisphenols, phthalates, heavy metals, forever chemicals (PFAS), and UV stabilizers.
Retailers must move to eliminate single-use plastic packaging and protect the public from harmful chemical additives in packaging:
- Stop lobbying against industry-wide requirements to eliminate throwaway plastic packaging.
- Begin implementing a pollution prevention plan for food plastic packaging by:
- Eliminating packaging for produce wherever possible and eliminating plastic packaging from at least 95 per cent of produce by 2028
- Implement systems in order to reach 25 per cent reusable/refillable food packaging by 2030
- Eliminate the use of plastic packaging for foods marketed to babies and toddlers.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Produced by ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE. Researched and written by Karen Wirsig with contributions by Brittany Harris, Ashley Wallis and Cassie Barker. Additional research by Merchandising Consultants Associates Limited. For a full list of contributors, please download the report.
© Copyright April 2023 by ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE CANADA. Permission is granted to the public to reproduce or disseminate this report, in part, or in whole, free of charge, in any format or medium without requiring specific permission. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE CANADA.
