In a report published Tuesday, Que Choisir Ensemble and No Plastic In My Sea denounce the omnipresence of plastic in supermarkets. The two associations, however, distinguish between organic stores, "in advance", and hard discount brands, where the "transition" has yet to begin.

Published on: 06/05/2026 - 07:25 Modified on: 06/05/2026 - 09:58

Bottles of water still widely purchased, packaged vegetables, decline in bulk... The associations Que Choisir Ensemble (formerly UFC-Que Choisir) and No Plastic In My Sea denounce in a report published Tuesday May 5 "the persistent gap between the commitments displayed [by supermarkets, Editor's note] and the reality on the shelves".

The two organizations surveyed from February 7 to 21 in 1,659 stores affiliated with 11 brands (E.Leclerc, Carrefour, Intermarché, Coopérative U, Auchan, Lidl, Aldi, Monoprix and the organic specialists Biocoop, La Vie Claire and Naturalia), most of which also responded, "often" partially, to a questionnaire.

Result: while the anti-waste law for a circular economy (Agec), promulgated in 2020, imposes the gradual end of single-use plastics by 2040, their 20% reduction planned for the end of 2025 (compared to 2018) has not been achieved, estimate the authors of the report, distinguishing however between organic stores, "in advance", and hard discount brands, where the "transition" remains "to be start”.

Also read “It’s everywhere”: how “the plastic crisis” is increasingly affecting health

On the front line, bottled water and drinks, best-sellers from supermarkets, accounting for “nearly 40% of single-use plastics”. Proof of their inexhaustible success, sales of bottled water even increased by 3.3% in 2025, according to data from Circana cited by the report, while the Agec law provides for a 50% reduction in plastic bottles by 2030.

“We haven’t even started the trajectory,” Lucile Buisson, environmental mission manager at Que Choisir Ensemble, lamented to AFP.

Packaged fruits and vegetables

This market is supplied by the distributors themselves, through their own brands, one of them having up to 186 different references, while mini-formats (less than 50 cl) are found in 81% of the stores audited.

Asked by AFP, the CSR director of the Carrefour group, Bertrand Swiderski, underlines in particular that 350 of the brand's stores are equipped with "a machine to recover plastic bottles" allowing the customer to receive "one to two cents" while "450 stores offer a deposit system" for glass containers.

Also read: The recycling deposit, a “false solution” to fight against plastic?

But only Biocoop has stopped marketing water in plastic bottles.

The study also looked at fruits and vegetables, focusing in particular on potatoes, oranges, apples, carrots and tomatoes. In traditional stores, 60% of these non-organic products are sold packaged, mainly in plastic, a share which rises to 91% for the same organic products, half of which in plastic.

Conversely, 90% of fruits and vegetables are sold in bulk in organic stores.

In addition, NGOs denounce the "harmful emerging trend" of selling pre-cut fresh vegetables and fruits.

Another complaint is the "clear decline" in bulk sales which should be halted by a decree published at the end of 2025, after five years of waiting, concerning the obligation for retail businesses of more than 400 square meters to devote at least 20% of their sales area to bulk sales by 2030.

The report also deplores the still "embryonic" recourse to the reuse of packaging and the persistence of poor overpackaging practices, to which is added the fashion for single-use masks in sachets, coming from South Korea.

Evolution of lifestyles

The two associations formulate a series of recommendations aimed at distributors (abandonment of unnecessary plastics, prioritization of reduction and reuse actions on water and drinks, etc.) and the government, such as the promotion of tap water.

“What matters is not photography at the moment but the downward trend” of plastic and the “efforts made” by the sector to be there in 2030 and beyond, pleads to AFP Philippe Joguet, director of sustainable development at the Federation of Commerce and Distribution (FCD).

Read alsoThe global addiction to plastic and its consequences, in ten figures

For Coopérative U, contacted by AFP, the study "correctly points out the difficulties" linked to "changing lifestyles (snacking, the need for convenience)" leading to overpackaging, on which the group promises to continue "its efforts".

In any case, argues Muriel Papin, general delegate of No Plastic In My Sea, current events "are leading us to globally rethink our relationship with plastic", the cost of which is increasing with the war in Iran.

With AFP

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