Lidl GB broadens “Prevented Ocean Plastic” food packaging range to reduce marine pollution

01 Nov 2022 --- Lidl GB is extending its range of “Prevented Ocean Plastic” (POP) food packaging to fresh meat ranges to prevent a littering amount equal to over 15 million plastic water bottles annually.

From this week, Lidl’s 400g and XXL 667g Deluxe sausages are now packaged in trays containing a minimum of 30% POP. Therefore, households can help to prevent single-use plastic waste from entering our seas. The sausages are RSPCA assured and certified to Red Tractor standard (QMS standard in Scotland).

Amali Bunter, Lidl GB’s head of responsible sourcing and ethical trade, says: “As the first UK supermarket to launch packaging using POP, we are proud to have now prevented the equivalent of over 15 million plastic water bottles from entering the ocean.”

POP-based packaging
In 2020, the discounter became the first UK supermarket to incorporate POP into some of its fish packaging. Now POP is reportedly used in most of Lidl’s own brand fresh fish ranges and is also used in some of the discounter’s breaded poultry ranges.

Shoppers can spot the distinctive POP packaging in-store by its blue and white logo. Earlier this year, Lidl said it prevented the equivalent of 15 million plastic water bottles from entering the ocean. This latest change would see an estimated additional 1.7 million water bottles prevented from entering the ocean each year – around 40 metric tons of plastic.

“Our commitment to tackling the detrimental impact of plastic waste doesn’t end there, and we’ll continue to work with our suppliers to build on our efforts,” says Bunter.

POP packaging, supplied and developed in conjunction with Bantam Materials, is made from discarded water bottles found in Southeast Asia within 30 miles of a coastline or major waterway that feeds into the ocean.

This waste is then sorted and processed before being used in packaging. The entire process is fully traceable, with a robust documented chain of accountability, claims the retailer.

A welcomed initiative
Shoppers can spot the distinctive POP packaging in-store by its blue and white logo.

The initiative is likely to be welcomed by UK consumers, with more than half (52.6%) indicating that they have noticed a gradual decrease in their single-use plastic usage.

Unlike in the UK and Ireland, European supermarkets were found to promote false solutions to the plastic pollution crisis and covertly attempt to stall genuine efforts for change, according to a new report by the Changing Markets Foundation.

Titled Under Wraps: What Europe’s Supermarkets Aren’t Telling Us About Plastic, the report detailed how various schemes by some of the continent’s largest outlets, which collectively turnover more than €2.4 trillion (US$2.57 trillion) per year, are focusing on false recycling initiatives rather than prevention and reuse models.

By Natalie Schwertheim

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