Sainsbury's Leads the Way in Reducing Plastic Waste with Innovative Packaging Solutions

In a significant step towards sustainability, Sainsbury’s has announced groundbreaking changes in its packaging for own-brand chicken and fish products, reducing plastic waste by nearly 700 tonnes annually. This initiative aligns with the retailer’s ongoing commitment to minimise plastic packaging and enhance recyclability.

Revolutionary Packaging for Salmon and Trout

Sainsbury’s is making history as the first UK retailer to switch all its salmon and trout product trays to pulp cardboard, which contains 70% less plastic. This change alone is expected to eliminate 346 tonnes of plastic waste each year. The new pulp trays are easily recyclable at home, allowing customers to contribute to reducing household waste.

Cardboard Trays for Breaded Chicken and Fish

The retailer is also introducing cardboard trays for its Taste the Difference and by Sainsbury's breaded chicken lines, as well as its Taste the Difference breaded fish fillets. These changes are projected to save an additional 348 tonnes of plastic annually.

Sustainable Choices for Seasonal Favourites

This summer, customers can enjoy sustainably packaged seasonal chicken favourites, including breaded goujons, nuggets, and schnitzels. These products will feature the new recyclable cardboard trays, making it easier for customers to host environmentally-friendly gatherings.

Promoting Sustainability with the ‘Good to Know’ Logo

To help customers easily identify more sustainable products, Sainsbury’s has launched the ‘Good to Know’ logo. This label will appear on products with reduced plastic packaging, starting with the updated salmon trays, underscoring Sainsbury’s dedication to its Plan for Better goals.

Claire Hughes on Sainsbury's Commitment

Claire Hughes, Director of Product and Innovation at Sainsbury’s, emphasised the retailer’s dedication to sustainability:

“With salmon being one of our most popular fish, we made it a priority to reduce the plastic on the packaging of this much-loved product as we work towards our Plan for Better goals. We are now the first retailer to make the move to have recycled pulp card trays across all our bySainsbury’s and Taste the Difference salmon products, enabling a whopping 70% plastic reduction. Together with changes to our breaded fish and chicken packaging, we are set to save 694 tonnes of plastic a year – a significant step towards our plastic reduction goals.”

Previous Achievements in Plastic Reduction

This initiative follows a series of successful plastic reduction efforts by Sainsbury’s, including the replacement of plastic trays with cardboard for its own-brand mushrooms, saving over 775 tonnes of plastic annually. These efforts underscore the retailer's continuous commitment to environmental sustainability.

The blog post "Sainsbury's Leads the Way in Reducing Plastic Waste with Innovative Packaging Solutions" first appeared on www.search-recruitment.co.uk, a UK ESG and Sustainability Recruitment Company, Search².