Spanish retailer Mercadona is set to introduce refills for its perfumery products to reduce plastic waste.
This measure reduces packaging waste by refilling the bottle once it has been emptied, encouraging the reuse of the original container.
Perfumery Refills
Mercadona stated that the refill of Deliplus hand soap will eliminate more than 90 tonnes of plastic per year, and reusing the containers of Mercadona's new facial creams, made mainly of glass, means avoiding the production of more than 277 tonnes of glass per year.
This initiative is being carried out in collaboration with the Suppliers Totaler RNB, Rofersam, and Iberfrasa, and is part of the 6.25 Strategy that Mercadona launched in 2019.
In addition to the environmental advantages of opting for refills, the initiative allows the retailer to reduce the cost of the products for the customer.
Facial cream refills will cost customers 50% less, and in the case of hand soap, which contains twice the amount that in the original container, they will save 23% of the original price.
Mercadona Social Responsibility Plan
Mercadona has developed a Social Responsibility Plan, which addresses the social and ethical components of the business through different sustainable lines of action that reinforce its commitment to shared growth.
As part of this policy, the retailer collaborates with more than 350 soup kitchens, 60 food banks, and other social entities in Spain and Portugal to whom it donates food daily, and participates in the food collection campaigns organised by these entities.
In 2021, the company donated a total of 20,600 tons of food to all these entities and organisations, 21% more than in 2020.
Likewise, Mercadona collaborates intensely with 32 foundations and occupational centres in decorating its stores with trencadís murals, made by more than 1,000 people with different degrees of disability.
Another strategic focus area of the Mercadona Social Responsibility Plan is environmental sustainability.
The retailer has an Environmental Management System, based on the principles of the circular economy and focuses on logistics optimisation, energy efficiency, waste management, sustainable production, and the reduction of plastic.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest packaging news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
