It was all part of a Plastic Free Powys demonstration led by Llangynidr plasterer Mick Lewis and county councillor Emily Durrant.
They were joined by the Cabinet member Cllr Liam Fitzpatrick, Plaid Cymru Cllr Elwyn Vaughan, and Grenville Ham, the leader of the Wales Green Party.
Mick said: “Why should we have to try and work out what goes in the red box and what can’t? Why should we have to drive miles to recycle plastic film? Retailers and manufacturers should just stop using plastic altogether.
“Until they do, we want everyone to start rejecting it at the checkout.”
Mick and Emily oversaw the selection of the groceries that were purchased and made sure that every single piece of plastic packaging was removed at the checkout. Cllr Durrant said: “There are perfectly good alternatives available that can be manufactured from waste products and perform just as well as this packaging which is killing our oceans.”
One of the suggested alternatives to plastic wrapping is PHA bio plastic which will degrade on land or in the sea and even acts as fish food.
The demonstration, which stirred a lot of attention from other shoppers, will now be repeated in supermarkets around Powys.
Cllr Ham said: “There are various ways to make plastic-free Powys a reality, and the supermarkets could help start this process by offering a plastic-free checkout.”
The store manager at the Brecon Morrisons branch, Reetesh Marakkath, said the demonstrators had explained what they were going to do beforehand, adding: “I completely understand the reasoning behind it. They had no requirements and we helped them where we could. There were no issues at all on the day – it was a good thing.”