Food and drink group Princes, which produces canned fish, meat, sandwich fillings and soft drinks, among other products, has announced that the packaging of its soft drinks and oils ranges will be developed from over 50% recycled plastics.
Princes will start manufacturing its drinks and oils products comprised of 51 percent RPET (recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate) in May and expects to convert all branded and own label products by the end of September.
'Significant Step'
David McDiarmid, corporate relations director for Princes, said, “This is a significant step for not only ourselves, but the wider grocery industry, as we will reach millions of households through our supply of brands and customer own-brand soft drinks and oils.”
McDiarmid said that Princes will not commit “beyond what is possible” but added that the group is striving to reach a position of fully-recycled content for all plastics as soon as it can.
Weight Reduction
Princes has also committed to ongoing packaging reduction projects to reduce the weight of plastics. One such project resulted in a 200-tonne reduction in the use of PET last year.
“We recognise that too much plastic packaging is thrown away and that much more effort needs to be made by all stakeholders to reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle all types of plastic," said McDiarmid.
“Ensuring consumers know how to responsibly recycle plastic and understand their role in this, as well as taking a fresh approach to collection and UK recycling infrastructure are key steps in closing the loop. We are committed to working in partnership to achieve this, and continuing to play as significant a role as we can.”
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aidan O'Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
