A CONSUMER survey has shown that Scotland is more plastic-conscious than the rest of the UK.
The research by retail app Ubamarket found that 78% of Scots consider plastic packaging on food and drinks to be “unnecessary” and want it “changed drastically”.
The CEO and founder of the app, Will Broome said: “The fact that our survey found that 59% of Scots agree that they wish they could buy more environmentally friendly options in spite of them being more expensive is a call to action in itself.”
Ubamarket allows customers to scan their shopping as they go, adding “plastic alerts” which display the plastic content of all scanned items to ensure better environmental choice is “back in the hands of shoppers”.
The manager of Edinburgh-based zero-waste store Eco Larder, Romaine Furmston-Evans, said: “Apps like this will hopefully raise awareness of ‘hidden’ plastics which sneak into products and also by highlighting the plastic footprint of their weekly shop, convert more people into zero-waste shoppers.”
Plastic pollution in the country was revealed to be worse than expected when recent research by Dundee University found more than 20,000 pieces of plastic on the Firth of Forth waterway.
Sam Gardner, deputy director of WWF Scotland, said: “It is strikingly clear that the public has no appetite for the excessive and unnecessary plastic packaging that we see so often in our supermarkets and shops.
“It’s possible an app could help people make informed decisions about the their shopping but on its own this will never be enough to turn the tide and reduce packaging waste. First responsibility for this falls with the processes and retailers to make sure the easy, affordable option is also the plastic free option.”
Scotland’s sensitivity to plastic waste was also evident this week as the SNP government announced plans for the UK’s first deposit return scheme for bottles and cans.
Charging a 20p deposit, it will include aluminium and steel cans as well as glass and Polyethylene terephthalate plastic bottles.
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