Single-use plastics have invaded our territory; ecosystems are full of these types of products that significantly damage their flora and fauna. The climate emergency is such that initiatives are being generated to avoid the use of this material. According to Greenpeace , supermarkets are key places where plastic should be avoided so as not to promote its expansion throughout the region; These establishments are the largest suppliers of the material that is used fleetingly. To find out the plastic footprint of supermarkets in the country, Greenpeace Mexico conducted a survey . The results were discouraging, only two chains passed successfully. Super Kompras and The Green Corner are the only supermarkets that consider measures and plans to reduce single-use plastics, said Ornela Garelli . However, Garelli noted that despite their passing grade, none of them achieved a satisfactory grade, while the rest of the 10 chains analyzed were failed. The study demonstrates the low participation of the commercial sector of self-service stores to combat plastic pollution.
It is essential to address the elimination of single-use plastics from their production, instead of promoting false solutions such as biobags, paper or cardboard. Ornela Garelli, head of the Oceans Without Plastics campaign of Greenpeace Mexico "Supermarkets play a fundamental role, since until now their business scheme makes available to consumers countless products made or overpackaged in single-use plastics, which affect the planet with materials that will take hundreds of years to degrade." To prepare this ranking , Greenpeace asked 32 supermarket chains to Nepal WhatsApp Number respond to a questionnaire that would evaluate their willingness to reduce plastic pollution, but only 10 answered the questions and 17 refused to do so, some arguing that the National Store Association of Self-Service and Departmental Services (ANTAD) had instructed them not to participate in the exercise. What companies participated? Walmart Soriana The Green Corner Dunosusa Groceries, Merco Super Lady Super Willy's The mission Super Compras Arámburo Supermarkets Which companies refused to respond? Chedraui HEB Al Super Arteli Pythian Smart and Final CECOM Merza S-MART Your Square Igor Barahona, researcher at UNAM and collaborator in this study, said that "to avoid bias in the scores, the answers were evaluated by volunteer students from the master's degrees in Public Health and Mathematical Sciences of the National Institute of Public Health (INSP). ), and the UNAM Mathematics Institute, who were not informed which supermarkets were in each case.
Despite the progress and initiatives, the actions in supermarkets are still very short and there is no well-defined objective. Greenpeace calls on Mexican supermarket chains to make greater commitments to achieve a reduction and gradual elimination of single-use plastics in their establishments and operations. It suggests taking innovation into account to invest in reusable, refillable, returnable packaging and distribution systems for bulk products, as well as increasing transparency in the measurement of their plastic footprints that allows them to establish measurable objectives and goals. In addition, it proposes that the measures taken to eliminate plastics be more rigorous and that the entire value chain be responsible and friendly to the planet.