Dear Supermarket Managers,
Open letter to request Portsmouth Supermarkets to offer recycling facilities
In a time of climate emergency, the residents of Portsmouth are increasingly aware of the need to protect our environment and its resources. However, they are clearly frustrated by the obstacles they are facing when trying to do the right thing – in particular, when it comes to recycling.
In the last couple of years, we have been disappointed to see important recycling facilities removed at Tesco (Fratton), Tesco (North Harbour) and Sainsbury’s (Farlington). These changes have not only caused significant uproar from local residents and customers, but have also put a great strain on our council facilities.
We have installed additional glass banks and new plastic banks all around Portsmouth, however, residents still miss the convenience of the facilities at their supermarkets. For some residents, this means giving up recycling some of these materials altogether.
In contrast, we must thank Asda (Fratton) and Morrisons (Anchorage Park) for working in conjunction with the council to introduce new recycling facilities. It is disappointing that other supermarkets have ignored or rejected our offer to work with them to maintain/improve these important recycling facilities.
All of your supermarkets boast about your ambitions to be more sustainable on your websites, in the media and online. Whilst there is an important role for manufacturers to reduce packaging, a vast majority of products being sold in your stores still contain packaging that is difficult to recycle. You have a responsibility to make your customers’ efforts to recycle as easy and accessible as possible. This should start with your stores.
We are calling on all our major supermarkets to commit to: –
- Keep your existing public recycling facilities open
- Work with the council to expand/improve these recycling facilities
- Update the council on what recycling services are available in your stores, so we can provide our residents with the best recycling advice.
Additionally, we are calling for Tesco and Sainsbury’s to commit to: –
- Reinstate at your Portsmouth stores the recycling facilities you have recently removed.
We are keen to work with you to improve recycling in the city. We look forward to hearing back from you.
Yours sincerely
Councillor Kimberly Barrett
Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Environment
Portsmouth City Council