Tesco scraps colored milk caps to recycle an additional 3,900 tons of plastic annually

24 Aug 2023 --- Tesco is ditching the colored milk caps on the roughly 245 million milk bottles it sells each year. The removal of colors, traditionally used to delineate fat levels, will make the caps easier to recycle and help the supermarket improve its environmental sustainability record.

Colored plastic currently needs to be processed separately from clear packaging, and the change means 3,900 extra tons of plastic will be recycled, claims Tesco. 

The move will be implemented throughout all Tesco stores and across 4 pint, 2 pint and 1 pint milk bottles. Different variants of milk – whole, semi-skimmed and skimmed – will still be identifiable by colored block labels around the main bottle.

James Waddy, category director for Dairy, says: “Ensuring our packaging is as sustainable as possible is really important to us, and customer feedback on our trial of these new clear milk caps has been overwhelmingly positive.” 

“We will continue to look for ways to improve the packaging of our products and make it even easier for customers to recycle at home.”

The 4rs strategy 
Tesco follows its “4Rs” strategy for plastic packaging – aiming to remove plastic where it can, reduce where it can’t, reuse more and recycle what’s left. Earlier this month, the supermarket announced a trial of fresh mince “pillow packs,” which use 70% less plastic and are fully recyclable at in-store soft plastic collection points.                                           

To date, Tesco says it has removed around 2.2 billion pieces of plastic from its UK business, including 200 million bags from Tesco.com deliveries, 100 million extra lids from products such as wipes, creams, yogurts and desserts, and 33 million pieces of plastic from bakery bread and doughnuts.

Last month, the supermarket began trialing paper pots for its Unilever’s instant noodle soups. The pots can reportedly be recycled at home with other paper waste and include on-pack recycling labels to guide shoppers on correct disposal. 

The new design marks the brand’s biggest innovation in its packaging since its launch over 40 years ago. Pot Noodle, the UK’s “biggest” instant hot snack brand, said the new paper pot has launched with an initial stock of 500,000 for the brand’s Chicken & Mushroom flavor. 

Edited by Louis Gore-Langton