Supermarkets told "make packaging compostable by 2013"

All food packaging should be recyclable or compostable by 2013 says the Green Alliance, and it's challenging companies to make it happen -- by providing a step-by-step guide to help them.

Says director Stephen Hale, "consumers want to be greener but need help to reduce their waste and carbon footprint. Yet 18 per cent of household waste in the UK is food waste and a further 20 per cent is packaging." He adds, "landfill is no longer an option. Manufacturers, retailers, local authorities and waste companies can, and must, do more to help householders do the right thing."

For retailers this will mean pressuring manufacturers to use sustainable packaging. If a huge supermarket was to make this a requirement, for example, then most manufacturers would have to get on board. You don't have to be the boss of Tesco or Sainsbury's to affect a change, though. Why not try only buying sandwiches from shops that use compostable packaging?

Another thing the Green Alliance recommends is that local authorities provide composting bins for residents. After all, there's no point having your weekly shop 100 per cent compostable if you can't compost it.

Some companies are already doing their bit -- 90 per cent of Sainsbury's' SO organic range has compost-friendly packaging -- but it is still virtually impossible for the average shopping trip to be completely free of harmful packaging. Many companies, like M&S, at least have plans to improve this situation, while many more are currently doing very little.

The Alliance's call to action isn't the only recent attempt to green our weekly shop -- earlier this month WRAP and Ainsley Harriott ran a campaign encouraging shoppers to bin less food.

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