UK retailer Morrisons has switched to ‘carbon neutral’ carton packaging for nine of its own-brand fresh milk SKUs.
The Tetra Pak cartons used by the retailer are certified as 'Carbon Neutral' by the Carbon Trust.
The cartons are recyclable at the kerbside in most regions across the UK and at recycling banks across the country.
'Sustainable Packaging Option'
Tony Fearon, dairy category director at Morrisons, said, “Fresh milk does not need to be in a plastic bottle. It keeps just as fresh in a carton. Fresh milk is the top user of plastic packaging in our stores, so this will result in significant plastic reduction.
“Tetra Pak has also been independently verified as a better sustainable packaging option. If customers take to it, we could be looking to move all of our fresh milk to Tetra Pak cartons in time.”
The move will help the retailer save 100 tonnes of plastic a year.
The nine SKUs include fresh milk in 500ml, 1 litre and 2 litre sizes and cover skimmed, semi-skimmed and whole milk variants.
They are priced at 60p for 500ml, 95p for 1 litre and £1.25 for 2 litres.
Fresh milk is currently one of the single biggest users of plastic packaging within UK supermarkets, accounting for approximately 10% of all plastic used, the retailer noted.
‘Carbon Neutral’ Label
Managing director of advisory at the Carbon Trust, Hugh Jones welcomed the initiative by Morrisons and added, “Our Carbon Trust ‘Carbon Neutral’ label, which will feature on these milk products in their new Tetra Pak packaging, recognises the CO2 reduction of this move and certifies that the cradle-to-grave carbon footprint of the packaging is in line with targets.”
Morrisons has also introduced carton packaging for fourteen of its own-brand fresh juice SKUs, which will remove another 678 tonnes of plastic from its operations per year.
The retailer has pledged to reduce plastic packaging by 50% across its own-brand products.
Earlier this month, the retailer launched paper packaging for its own-brand toilet and kitchen rolls to cut plastic consumption and increase the use of recyclable packaging.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Packaging news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
