Sainsbury’s supermarket sets 50 percent plastic reduction target, explores refillable packaging concepts

16 Sep 2019 --- In a bid to address concerns of single-use plastic packaging pollution, UK supermarket Sainsbury’s has announced a new commitment to reduce its plastic packaging by 50 percent by 2025. Towards this goal, the company aims to switch to alternative materials, use lighter-weight plastics and introduce refillable packaging at scale. Following intense scrutiny from Greenpeace, Sainsbury’s is set to work with the NGO on this commitment and will report publicly on progress every six months.

In 2018, Sainsbury’s reportedly reduced its plastic packaging by just 1 percent, indicating how transformational of a leap the new 50 percent reduction target is . This new move requires the industry to move beyond existing efforts at reducing plastic packaging.

 “We have set ourselves a bold ambition because we understand that we urgently need to reduce our impact on the planet and to help drive change across our industry. Packaging plays a vital role in keeping our food safe and fresh and minimizing food waste. We must, therefore, find alternatives to plastic that protect the quality of our food while minimizing our impact on the environment,” says Mike Coupe, CEO of Sainsbury’s.

While Sainsbury’s currently uses almost 120,000 metric tons of plastic packaging per year, its new target aims at all branded food packaging across all of its operations. To do so, the company aims to switch to alternative materials, use lighter-weight plastics and introduce refillable packaging at scale. Following rigorous analysis of its plastic footprint, the key areas of focus for the biggest impact are plastic milk bottles, packaging for fruit and vegetables, fizzy drinks, water and fruit juices. 

Sainsbury’s has identified four ways it plans to limit its single-use plastic consumption:

Remove

• Lightweight loose produce bags and single-use plastic bags from bakery aisles by September 2019 (489 metric tons).
• Plastic trays from asparagus and sweetcorn (144 metric tons); cream pots (114 metric tons); tomatoes (102 metric tons); carrots (38 metric tons); and herb pots (18 metric tons).
• Plastic from cauliflowers, organic bananas, easy peeler citrus fruit, brassicas and tomatoes.

Replace

• Fresh food black plastic trays with recyclable alternatives (6000 metric tons) by the end of 2019.
• Plastic film on fruit and vegetables with a recyclable alternative (2518 metric tons) by end 2020.
• PVC and polystyrene trays with recyclable alternatives (1213 metric tons).
• Plastic cutlery with wooden cutlery in Food to Go, saving 38 metric tonsn of plastic.

Re-use

• Fresh water stands available for customers to refill their own water bottles in 326 supermarket cafes across the UK.
• Customers are encouraged to bring their own containers to meat and deli counters.

Recycle

• A “pre-cycle” area will be trialed in stores for customers to remove unwanted packaging and leave it for recycling.
• Customers will be able to use recycling facilities at further 125 stores (currently 275).
• Collaboration with others on research to develop new packaging and recycling technologies.
• Deposit Return Schemes are being piloted so customers can return recyclable packaging simply and easily.

A collective effort
Despite being the second-largest supermarket chain in the UK, Sainsbury’s acknowledges that it cannot achieve its projected goal on its own. Some of its proposed alternatives require customer cooperation and consumerist behavioral changes. For example, Sainsbury’s is reviewing alternative options including the introduction of refillable bottles, introducing returnable milk bottles or offering a reusable jug with milk in a lightweight plastic pouch. The company notes that plastic milk bottles are currently one of the largest sources of plastic packaging. 

More than just consumer support is needed: Sainsbury’s aims to collaborate with food manufacturers, packaging suppliers, raw material scientists and other retailers, alongside the waste and recycling industry. “We can’t do this on our own and we will be asking our suppliers and our customers to work with us to help us make this important change,” Coupe notes. 

In the works
In 2005, Sainsbury’s signed up to the Courtauld Commitment, a voluntary government target to reduce packaging in the grocery sector. This agreement focused on reducing the weight of packaging and resulted in retailers reducing glass and fibreboard packaging in favor of lighter weight and more versatile plastic packaging.

Since 2018, Sainsbury’s has been one of 67 members of the UK Plastics Pact, which aims to move away from a linear plastics economy and toward a circular system to keep plastic in the economy and out of the natural environment.

Also in 2018, innovative UK packaging supplier Faerch Plast began working collaboratively with Sainsbury’s in cooperation with Marks & Spencer, Tesco and leading UK waste re-processor Viridor to convert recycled black plastic into new food grade packaging. The result is a circular economy solution to a previously challenging material, which aimed to recycle 120 metric tons of black plastic (eight million items) each month, the company claims.

By Anni Schleicher