Supermarkets are facing calls to bring the cost of loose fruit and vegetables in line with packaged produce.
A recent study found that Irish consumers are spending up to twice as much on fruit and vegetables when they buy them loose compared to in plastic packaging.
The Sunday Times reported it remains cheaper to buy in bulk when it comes to the likes of apples or onions. Mindy O'Brien from Voice Ireland is challenging supermarkets to promote their plastic-free options.
While a number of retailers have encouraged or introduced reusable packages - such as Lidl's recent announcement of reusable fruit and veg bags - Mindy is calling for all supermarkets here to make sure commitments to reducing plastic are reflected in product pricing.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, she said: "People want to reduce the amount of plastic packaging that they're getting. But people are on a budget, so they pick the most convenient and the cheapest. It's up to the supermarkets to make a change."
She added: "Supermarkets say it prevents food waste... because if you have it loose people leave things, and items are broken. My contention to them is [...] when they prepackage things, we're buying more than we want - so we're transferring the food waste from them to us."
Source: Newstalk.com