British supermarket chain Iceland, which operates nearly 1,000 branches across the UK, is trialing a new kind of packaging for seven items in its stores in a bid to cut down on plastic use drastically. These items include potatoes, bread, mushrooms, apples, pears, blueberries, and strawberries.
If the packaging scheme is successful, the introduction of reduced-plastic and plastic-free packaging could prevent hundreds of tons of plastic used by the chain every year. Iceland claims it will become the UK’s first supermarket to offer pre-packaged sliced bread and potatoes that come in 100% recyclable, plastic-free paper packaging.
The packaging trials will roll out at different Iceland branches across the UK and at different seasons of the year to help the supermarket “monitor its customer responses from across the country.”
Richard Walker, Iceland’s managing director, announced:
The packaging trials represent an important step in Iceland’s journey to completely remove plastic from our own label ranges by the end of 2023.
Overall, if the packaging scheme proves successful across all sub-categories (such as all bread lines) and all stores, Iceland will save more than 350 tons of plastic each year from polluting the planet.
Walker said:
If these trials are successful, the impact on plastic reduction across our almost 1,000 stores will be huge. We recently called on big businesses to join us in publishing their full plastic footprint to support our call for enhanced transparency. Now we are asking our customers to try these plastic-free alternatives, as we continue to turn down our tap on plastic production.
Iceland isn’t the only supermarket chain that’s making moves to eliminate plastic. In September, Waitrose announced it would permanently remove plastic wrapping from its multi-pack tins, including tuna, baked beans, and sweetcorn. The supermarket claims the move will save around 45 tons of plastic waste per year.
Other UK Supermarket Giants also announced they would remove glitter items from their shelves before Christmas, including:
- Morrisons will remove glitter and plastic from all its own-brand ranges of wrapping paper, present bags, crackers, cards, plants and wreaths, flowers, and non-seasonal items.
- John Lewis and Waitrose will remove glitter from all their wrapping paper, crackers, cards, and gift bags for Christmas.
According to Morrisons, the decision would eliminate over 50 tons of plastic from its shelves over Christmas alone. A study on the microplastics’ impact on the environment and waterways showed that all types of glitter, biodegradable or not, are harmful to the environment.
