Asda replaces plastic shelf labels with special adhesive in DS Smith partnership

24 Feb 2021 --- UK supermarket Asda is removing one million pieces of plastic from its stores this year in collaboration with packaging giant DS Smith. 

The announcement comes following a re-evaluation of price ticket holders on the edge of shelves known as shelf-edge-labels (SEL).

Asda admitted the labels were adopted from permanent shop fixtures as a quick and easy solution for price labeling. 

“The challenge with SEL holders is they have been widely accepted as a standard and easy application for displaying price tickets on temporary cardboard displays,” says the company. 

However, the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic used in these fixtures cannot be disposed of sustainably.

PVC is the world’s third most widely produced synthetic plastic polymer and unrecyclable. 

Removing plastic 
Asda undertook “rigorous trials” to find a solution. A method using adhesive was eventually found by which it can mitigate plastic altogether. 

The move will be beneficial to both Asda and the environment, says the company, and mean less than 5 percent of point-of-sale displays will contain plastic. 

The switch also recovers fibers in the recycling process more efficiently. In addition, store operation workload is reduced when separating materials.

As a result, Asda is looking to adapt these point-of-sale guidelines more widely, it says. A reassessment will generate savings of approximately eight tons of plastic waste and 21 tons of CO2 each year.

The development is the latest in an ongoing partnership between Asda and DS Smith, which began over seven years ago. 

Concurrently, ASDA is targeting a 15 percent reduction on its own brand plastic by the end of 2021, while DS Smith is aiming to remove one billion pieces of plastic from supermarket shelves by 2025. 

Last year, both parties began this journey with an initiative reducing plastic on point-of-sale displays by 15 percent. With this latest SEL initiative, Asda’s display are a step closer to plastic-free.

“This particular advancement is a great example that any step toward sustainability is a step in the right direction and the benefits our customers can reap when they make subtle but impactful changes are second to none,” comments Angus Jones, client director at DS Smith Retail Marketing. Click to EnlargeThe DS Smith dot solution, which is saving plastic usage on Asda's shelves.  

Refill trial 
Last year, Unilever launched its largest European refill trial at an Asda store, where customers are encouraged to refill packaging for several leading Unilever personal care and F&B brands. The company expects to save up to 30,000 plastic water bottles in the first year.

Asda also launched its first fully recyclable blueberry punnet and film lid, equating to an estimated 5.5 million recyclable packs annually. 

Edited by Louis Gore-Langton

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