Finnish retailer Kesko has announced the in-store introduction of bags made from recycled plastic packaging materials provided by customers.
Pirkka ESSI 'circular economy' bags were added to K-food stores in January, and are the first of their kind in Finland. The bags are available in white and grey, and cost the same as a traditional plastic bag.The bags are available in white and grey, and cost the same as a traditional plastic bag.
The company offers in-store 'Rinki' eco plastic collection points at 160 outlets. Plastic packaging has been collected at these take-back points for roughly a year.
The material is then processed into CIRCO recycled plastic by the Ekokem Plastic Refinery in Riihimäki. Afterwards, the bags are produced at the Amerplast plant, in Tampere.
"The necessary infrastructure is now ready for recycling and reusing plastic and producing circular economy bags. Finns can now leave traditional plastic bags in the past," said Børge Kvamme, CEO of Amerplast.
Circular Economy
These new recycled bags are part of K Group's circular economy programme. Another initiative in 2016 included collecting cooking grease from Christmas hams to manufacture renewable diesel fuel.
'K Group wants to contribute to promoting the transition to a circular economy model. No waste is produced in a circular economy. Instead, materials are utilised as efficiently as possible as the raw materials of new products,' the company commented in a statement.
The retailer has also created a plastic policy, which endeavours to decrease plastic waste entering water bodies and other parts of the environment.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
