Our lives are becoming wrapped in plastic. Big corporations are pumping out an endless tide of unnecessary plastic, and it's getting harder and harder to avoid. Packaging makes up almost 60% of litter collected in Australia. Once in our oceans, plastic is almost impossible to recover. Plastic pollution is killing marine wildlife like turtles and seabirds, clogging up our waterways and spoiling our beaches. The best way to end plastic pollution is to stop it at the source.
For two years citizen scientists have stepped up as volunteer Plastic Investigators to help the Australian Marine Conservation Society reveal that shoppers are being ripped off for avoiding single-use plastic packaging in Australia's major supermarkets.
Our 2024 Plastic Investigators found that, in 73% of cases, loose fresh produce was more expensive than the same item wrapped in plastic.
Australia's major supermarkets won't tell us how they price pre-packaged and loose fresh produce. We're told this is 'commercially sensitive information'. We've caught them out, we've called them out, and now we need to track their progress.
We need eyes in every store around Australia to find out the truth.
Sign up today to join the 2025 Plastic Investigator team. You will receive short surveys to help us track plastic packaging on fresh fruit and vegetables, updates from our plastic pollution campaign team, and help stop plastic pollution at the source.
We don't think it should cost you more to avoid plastic packaging. If you agree, help us by reporting the price differences you find while you shop to hold these massive corporations accountable.
