Waitrose on target to eradicate black plastic, encourages reusable containers at fresh service counters

16 Jan 2019 --- UK supermarket chain Waitrose has ceased using black plastic to package hundreds of its own-label products. It plans to completely eradicate hard-to-recycle black plastics from own-label products by the end of 2019. Waitrose is also encouraging customers to bring reusable containers to the supermarket’s fresh service counters to minimize the use of plastic bags.

Waitrose has now removed hard-to-recycle black plastic on its fresh meat, fish, poultry, fruit and veg, amounting to a reduction of over 1,300 tons of black plastic per annum, the retailer says.

The majority of black plastic packaging is colored using carbon black pigments, making it hard for recycling plant sensors to sort this type of packaging. As a result, black plastic packaging often ends up in landfill.

“Eliminating black plastic is a priority for us,” says Tor Harris, Head of CSR, Health & Agriculture for Waitrose & Partners. “While removing it we have also taken the opportunity to reduce the amount of plastic of any color by removing trays from fruit and veg like apples, broccoli and pak choi.”

“We are making progress all the time and are determined to maintain our momentum which is why we’re now looking at ready meals and other products so we can achieve our aim of removing all black plastic from our own-label products by the end of 2019,” Harris adds.

A recent example of packaging innovation to eradicate the use of black plastic includes the retailer’s Duchy organic tomato packaging which partly uses punnets made from tomato vines, which would otherwise have gone to waste, in combination with recycled cardboard.

Duchy organic tomato punnets made from tomato vines and recycled cardboard.Waitrose is also now upping its efforts to encourage customers to bring reusable containers to the fresh service counters in order to reduce plastic bag consumption. Shoppers are encouraged to bring their own clean, lidded containers to take home their fresh meat and fish for some time, but signs have now gone up in all stores with meat and fish counters to increase awareness of the policy.

Encouraging customers to adopt reusables forms a key part of the retailer’s packaging and plastic reduction strategy, Waitrose says. Last year it removed all disposable cups from its stores so myWaitrose members now have to bring their own reusable cup to claim their free tea and coffee, a move which saves a reported 52 million cups a year.

The supermarket has also committed to replacing loose fruit and vegetable plastic bags with a home compostable alternative by spring 2019 and removing 5p single-use carrier bags by March 2019. Together this will save 134 million plastic bags a year, according to Waitrose.

"Our long term aim is to remove bags completely from our counters or find a suitable alternative for meat and fish in the same way we have with compostable fruit and veg bags, which will be introduced this year,” Harris continues.

“We haven’t as yet found that option and know we can’t remove them overnight as there are food safety considerations when handling raw meat and fish and buying food from the counters has become part of many customers' regular shop,” she says.

“The signs, as well as the conversations our Partners are being encouraged to have with customers, are designed to help us work with our customers to start making a difference as soon as possible,” concludes Harris.

In a similar move, UK supermarket chain Morrisons announced in June 2018 that shoppers who bring their own plastic containers to the meat and fish counter will be rewarded with 100 loyalty card points, the equivalent of 10p.

This month, the UK government launched a consultation to increase the 5p plastic bag charge to 10p and extend the scheme to all retailers. The move comes as part of UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove’s strategy to reduce single-use plastic waste and transform throwaway culture.

Edited by Joshua Poole