“Plastic has massive eco-benefits and can drive sustainable change,” says Co-op packaging technologist

20 Feb 2019 --- With Packaging Innovations 2019 in Birmingham only a week away, PackagingInsights speaks to Rob Thompson, Packaging Technologist at Co-op, about the UK supermarket’s endeavors to drive sustainable change within the plastic supply chain. Thompson discusses a number of recent Co-op innovations, including the UK’s first compostable carrier bag, compostable paper teabags and plans to make all its packaging recyclable by 2023.

PackagingInsights: Some smaller supermarkets, such as Ekoplaza in the Netherlands and Thornton’s Budgens in the UK, have launched plastic-free zones. Would you ever consider a similar initiative in Co-op stores?
Thompson: We’re always open to innovation but we take a more holistic approach to making packaging recyclable and reducing single-use plastics across the whole store rather than tackling individual aisles. Plastic has massive benefits for carbon reduction, reducing food waste and adding convenience, so for us, it’s more about driving sustainable change within the plastic supply chain. Our preferred solution is to make all our plastics recyclable and to use as much recycled content as possible, working together to help our members and customers make more ethical choices that align with waste management infrastructure. Plastic should be seen as a valuable resource for us to collect and recycle, keeping it in the economy and out of the ocean.

PackagingInsights: Co-op hit the headlines when it became the first UK supermarket to roll out compostable carrier bags. What are the advantages of compostable carrier bags over the 5p/10p plastic bag charge which other retailers enforce?
Thompson: We believe that if we don’t sell single-use bags people will use the heavier bag for life for a single-use purpose. Given our convenience nature, i.e., last minute purchases, that is a key consideration for us. We also take on board the Environment Agency’s concerns regarding the environmental impact of moving to paper bags. Co-op has the compostable bags in over 1,000 of its food stores, and we sell them in areas where the local council accepts them as part of household food waste recycling. The idea is that if you forget your reusable bag you can buy one of these not-for-profit bags to carry your shopping home and then use it as a food caddy liner afterward. The bag can be turned into peat-free compost and is also approved for home composting. As this is new technology, there are commercial challenges around economies of scale. We’ve offered to share the details with any other retailers who want to take this idea up in their stores too.

PackagingInsights: In April 2018, Co-op said it planned to package water in 50 percent recyclate plastic bottles, which are grayer and cloudier than those which use no recycled plastic, in order to test whether consumers are willing to compromise on appearance. What were your conclusions from this experiment?
Rob Thompson, Packaging Technologist at Co-op, will be presenting at Packaging Innovations 2019 in Birmingham, outlining the supermarket's "recipe for packaging sustainability."Thompson: We found that once customers understood that the difference in appearance was due to the high recycled content, they were very accepting of the change. We launched the new bottles on our full range of still, sparkling and flavored waters during Recycle Week 2018, which we estimate will save about 350 tons of virgin PET annually. Since then, sales of bottled water have increased by 10 percent per week compared to the same time last year. This was a retail-first, and was so successful we have now made it our policy that all Co-op branded PET bottles, pots, tubs and trays shall contain a minimum of 50 percent recycled content. We’ve given suppliers until 2021 to comply with this.

PackagingInsights: On this point, do you think that consumers will have to accept less attractive packaging as it becomes more sustainable? Or is it possible to maintain the appearance of packaging while also improving sustainability?
Thompson: Advances in technology mean that the bottles are not as grey or dirty as we first thought but, importantly, our move gives confidence to recyclers to invest in infrastructure as we are creating a market for the recyclate. Some brands have hidden recycled plastic behind sleeves or by using colored plastic – ironically this makes it harder to recycle, so we didn’t think it was the right approach. I think that perceptions of what is “attractive” are set to change massively as consumers become more educated about waste management issues. We’ve already seen retailers moving away from so-called Vanity Black pigments for premium goods as they can’t be detected by near-infrared scanners. An example would be Co-op sushi packs, where we’ve moved from black bases to clear mono aPET. In this case, we’ve reverse printed the sleeve that goes around the pack to help the sushi stand out. So yes, you can still have attractive packaging that is designed for recyclability.

PackagingInsights: You are evidently committed to improving the sustainability of your packaging, but what regulatory action would you like to see from the government to help you reach this goal?
Thompson: I’m quietly optimistic about the new raft of measures that have just been proposed by DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), which include a consistent approach to recycling by local councils right across the UK, and fiscal instruments to force producers to use packaging that is easy to recycle, find solutions to those materials that are hard to recycle, and label materials correctly to help consumers understand what they can and can’t recycle. Additionally, the proposed mandate of ambitious targets for recycled content and use of funds raised to build more UK recycling plants, improve on-the-go collection and invest in R&D to find a solution for the recyclability of residual plastics, is something we would support.

PackagingInsights: What progress have you made in developing a compostable paper teabag? What technical challenges have you faced and how are you overcoming them?
Thompson: By moving to compostable teabags, we’ll be removing about nine tons per year of polypropylene fibers, most of which goes into food waste collection and is ultimately spread on land. We’ve been working to find a less persistent, compostable sealant for a few years now. It’s fair to say that there have been some technical challenges with this, mostly around the lower melting point of PLA compared to PP. We’re working with the supplier to find a material and machine combination that works.

PackagingInsights: In November 2018, a Greenpeace report suggested that UK supermarkets are major contributors to plastic pollution and “too slow” to find solutions. Greenpeace gave Co-op a score of 4.2/10 for its efforts to reduce single-use plastics, deeming it the seventh worst performing major UK supermarket. Is this a fair evaluation?
Thompson: The Greenpeace report highlighted that Co-op had the lowest plastic footprint per one percent market share of any UK supermarket and gave us the top score for own brand packaging recyclability, which is where we want to be.Co-op's landmark compostable carrier bag: "The idea is that if you forget your reusable bag you can buy one of these not-for-profit bags to carry your shopping home and then use it as a food caddy liner afterward," Thompson explains.

PackagingInsights: How much of an issue is consumer recycling behavior and what is Co-op doing to help improve it?
Thompson: Consumer behavior is critical. Our members told us clearly that they want us to make it easier for them to recycle at home, in fact, at our last 2 AGMs, over 99 percent of Co-op voting members voted to make all of our packaging easy to recycle by 2023. We’ve been co-creating with customers through our Member Voice activity, and engaging with members through our members’ council events and articles in our in-store magazine. We were a founder member of OPRL and have supported them in developing the We Recycle app to help consumers recycle on the go.

PackagingInsights: What new and exciting packaging sustainability projects does Co-op have in the pipeline?
Thompson: We’re removing single-use plastics, only using the stuff you can recycle, and we plan to make all our packaging recyclable by 2023. Some of these exciting projects will include removing hard to recycle plastics like PVC, polystyrene, cPET and black and dark colored plastics from all our packaging. We’re creating a market for the recyclate by specifying a minimum 50 percent recycled content in rigid PET and HDPE. We’re also starting to convert plastic films into polyethylene, which is recyclable with carrier bags at larger stores.

PackagingInsights: What role will you have at Packaging Innovations in Birmingham later this month and what are you hoping to achieve at the show?
Thompson: I’m presenting at the Innovation stage on February 28, outlining Co-op’s recipe for packaging sustainability, showcasing some of the great work our suppliers have done to improve recyclability and explaining how packaging companies can help us with our goal to make all Co-op packaging easy to recycle.

By Joshua Poole