SPAR UK has announced that it has removed almost 300 tonnes of virgin plastic from the packaging of approximately 53 own-brand products in one year.
The retailer has also prevented 100 tonnes of black plastic from ending up in the landfill, and added recycling information in over 700 store-brand products.
Head of CSR at SPAR UK, Cath McIlwham, commented, “We know that protecting the planet for the future is important to our customers and retailers and we have shown how committed we are to reducing the amount of plastic we use and ensuring packaging is recyclable where possible.”
Initiatives
The retailer has introduced recycled plastic in the packaging material of own-brand products such as SPAR waters, dilutes, cider, and mixers to achieve this reduction.
It has replaced black plastic from around 45 products with clear plastic, or recycled plastic.
SPAR UK’s own-brand meal trays are now made of 80% recycled materials and are fully recyclable, the company added.
'A Huge Commitment'
McIlwham added, “A year ago we made a huge commitment to eliminate black plastic from our SPAR own-label packaging range by the end of 2020 and we are delighted to be working well ahead of our target.”
The retailer has pledged to eliminate single-use plastic from its own-brand products by 2025.
It also aims to incorporate 30% recycled content in plastic packaging, on average, and make 100% of its packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable.
© 2020 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.
