This focus study is part of VOICE Ireland’s National Recycling Bin Survey (NRBS), which looksinto what goes in our household recycling bins and where it’s coming from. In the latestedition, NRBS25, supermarkets were identified as the biggest contributors to householdpackaging waste, with a striking 70% of recycling bin contents linked to supermarketpurchases. That constitutes an increase from the 66% attributed to them in NRBS23.This time around, we wished to complete the NRBS by carrying out an additional piece ofresearch comparing the five main Irish supermarkets. Through the purchase of a samplebasket in each of these retail shops, we analysed how much packaging waste a typical grocerybasket generates. We also examined how these compare to a zero waste basket, sourcedthrough alternatives like refill and packaging-free shops.This study dives into the details of how supermarkets are addicted to plastic and packagingand what a more circular approach to grocery shopping could look like