Ocado and Southern Co-op are the latest retailers to remove disposable barbecues from sale across all their sales channels, both instore and online.
The grocery retailers are making the move to protect the environment at a time of “greatly increased risk of fire,” from soaring temperatures during the UK’s 40C heatwave in July.
Ocado announced on Twitter today, 8th August, that it would no longer be stocking or selling the outdoor cooking product “with immediate effect”.
The decision was made following the campaign by London Fire Brigade and in the wake of Waitrose, Aldi and The Co-op also removing them from sale. Ocado has urged all “remaining retailers” to follow suit.
Following the campaign by the London Fire Brigade, we’ve stopped selling disposable BBQs on Ocado with immediate effect. This is the right thing to do and we hope the remaining retailers will follow suit.
— ocado (@Ocado) August 8, 2022
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The news comes as London’s Fire Brigade calls for a total ban on the disposable BBQs, as it urges people to “help us keep London safe and prevent grass fires” by “postponing your BBQ or bonfire.”
Mark Smith, chief executive of Southern Co-op said: “We have had a longstanding commitment to reduce our impact on the environment.
“We’ve taken this additional step, to completely remove disposable BBQs from sale in all our 199 managed stores, to play our part in addressing the impacts of the extraordinarily dry conditions across the south.
“We hope our members and customers will support this important move to protect our local wildlife and ecosystems.”
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