Sainsbury’s is leading the way in plastic reduction by implementing innovative changes to its food packaging. The retailer has introduced pulp trays for all salmon and trout products, which use 70% less plastic and can be recycled at home. This makes Sainsbury’s the first retailer to make this environmentally friendly switch in the food industry.
With these packaging changes, Sainsbury’s is set to save a substantial amount of plastic annually. The new packaging for chicken and fish products will save 694 tonnes of plastic a year, which is equivalent to the weight of almost 100 elephants. This change aligns with Sainsbury’s commitment to reducing plastic waste and promoting sustainability.
The transition to pulp cardboard trays for salmon fillets will result in 70% less plastic usage, saving 346 tonnes of plastic annually. In addition, cardboard trays will be introduced for Taste the Difference and by Sainsbury’s breaded chicken lines, saving 300 tonnes of plastic a year. Similarly, the packaging for Taste the Difference breaded fish fillets will also be changed to cardboard trays, saving 48 tonnes of plastic annually.
Customers can easily recycle the new packaging at home, contributing to reduced household waste. The trays can be placed in kerbside recycling, while the film packaging can be recycled at Sainsbury’s front-of-store flexible plastics recycling points available in all UK supermarkets.
Claire Hughes, director of product and innovation at Sainsbury’s, emphasized the importance of reducing plastic in packaging, stating, “We are now the first retailer to make the move to have recycled pulp card trays across all our bySainsbury’s and Taste the Difference salmon products, enabling a whopping 70% plastic reduction.”
Sainsbury’s has also introduced a ‘Good to Know’ logo to help customers identify products with sustainable packaging, including those with reduced plastic. This logo is part of the retailer’s efforts to improve sustainability and achieve its plastic reduction goals.
These changes in food packaging are part of Sainsbury’s larger commitment to reduce plastic usage in its own-brand products. By making strategic switches like replacing plastic steak trays with cardboard alternatives and using cardboard punnets for mushrooms, Sainsbury’s is making significant strides towards reducing plastic waste and promoting a more sustainable future.
