I'm really upset about the amount of packaging on supermarket food. I've heard about campaigns where people unwrap their shopping at the checkout and leave the packaging behind. Does this work?

Laurie: Food packaging is a major contributor to household waste. Packaging materials probably add ten to twenty per cent to the climate impacts of food supply (the typical UK diet produces 2000kg/year of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gases). Plastic bags and wrapping is a nuisance as it uses a lot of energy to make and it's hard to recycle. But the major problem is glass and plastic bottles, glass jars and aluminium and steel cans. You probably wouldn't want to leave them behind at the checkout!
The best thing is to buy simple unprocessed food, produced as locally as possible and to buy in large quantities if it works for you. That cuts down on packaging and transport, but you still end up with plastic, paper and cardboard waste. Recycle as much as possible with the council and compost the paper and cardboard left.