Spanish retailer Eroski has announced that it has replaced the plastic used in packaging trays for bakery products with 100% recycled and recyclable PET plastic.
The initiative will help the retailer to prevent the consumption of 250 tonnes of virgin plastic per year.
Director of health and sustainability at Eroski, Alejandro Martinez Berriochoa, said, "This change favours a circular economy model, since the plastic [from] water bottles is recycled [and] used as a raw material in our bakery trays.
"These [bakery trays] can, in turn, be recycled again if they are deposited in the yellow container to be used as a raw material in other products."
The retailer has also replaced plastic trays of meat and fish with trays that contain 80% recycled PET.
Other Initiatives
The retailer has replaced plastic trays in some of its Eroski Natur's fruit and vegetable SKUs with FSC-certified paper.
The retailer also encourages customers to bring their personal reusable containers for meat and fish purchases.
The cooperative has also introduced reusable mesh bags as an alternative to single-use plastic bags for fruit and vegetables.
By 2025, Eroski has pledged to cut the use of single-use plastics by 20%. The company aims to make 100% of its packaging recyclable, eliminate overpacking, and enhance the use of recycled and renewable materials.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
