Break Free From Plastic’s first-ever global supermarket audit reveals that retailers are doing the bare minimum to reduce single-use plastics, except where laws force them to act.
By Bunmi Yekini
Supermarkets across the world are lagging in efforts to tackle plastic pollution, according to a new report by Break Free From Plastic (BFFP), released on September 16, 2025.
The report, “Supermarket Audits: Stores’ Untapped Potential in Fighting Plastic Pollution,” offers the first global snapshot of retail sector practices in reducing plastic use. Between August and November 2024, nearly 500 audits of 247 retailers in 27 countries were conducted by volunteers.
Findings show that while many supermarkets no longer provide free plastic carrier bags at checkout, often because of regulations in over 100 countries, few have adopted broader measures such as bulk dry goods sections, bottle deposit return systems, or alternatives to plastic produce bags.
“Supermarkets around the world are heavily reliant on single-use plastics, and this overconsumption is a key reason we are in a pollution crisis today,” said Emma Priestland, Corporate Campaigns Coordinator at BFFP. “By implementing some simple and proven measures, stores can massively reduce their plastic footprint, and help their customers avoid unnecessary plastic, good for their health and the environment.”
The audit revealed stark contrasts depending on legislation. For example, 96% of German stores had bottle deposit schemes, compared to just 17% in other countries. Only 14% of audited stores worldwide offered bulk dry goods sections, and just 11% had eliminated plastic produce bags.
Citizen groups involved in the audits stressed the urgency of stronger measures. Maria José García Bellalta of Fundación El Árbol, Chile, noted that while her country has banned plastic bags since 2018, “smaller convenience stores still freely provide plastic bags to customers, with little to no oversight or enforcement.” She warned that weak enforcement risks undermining progress.
From Mexico, Maite Cortés, Executive Director of the Jalisco Environmental Collective, emphasized the need for packaging redesign: “Consumers want products that are not designed to be disposable because they cause plastic particles to migrate into food.”
In Indonesia, Daru Setyorini of ECOTON criticized supermarkets for “flooding us with plastic-packed products,” calling on retailers to “make sustainable choices accessible, visible, and affordable.”
Similarly, Edith Monteiro of Adansonia.Green, Senegal, reminded that, “Every aisle in the supermarket can be part of the problem or part of the solution. Choosing less plastic means choosing a healthier future.”
The report calls on supermarkets to use their market power to influence suppliers, redesign packaging, and promote reusable alternatives. It also urges the sector not to wait for legislation but to take proactive steps, especially as negotiations on a global plastic treaty continue.