Tesco has commenced the collection of plastic waste, such as drinks bottles, from coastal areas, with the packaging then recycled and used again in fresh fish packaging.
The retailer said the adoption of the new packaging is expected to remove around 500 metric tonnes of plastic from the environment each year and reduce the amount of ‘virgin plastic’ required.
Many of the supermarket’s fresh salmon, haddock, cod and sea bass lines will be sold for the first time in trays that contain at least 30% recycled coastal plastic collected from beaches, coastlines, and coastal communities around the Mediterranean Sea.
Keep Sea Blue
Collection and processing is certified by the non-profit organisation Keep Sea Blue, which works with and connects organisations across the supply chain from collection to reuse in new packaging.
The plastic is recovered initially by a network of collectors across the Mediterranean, including volunteer groups involved in beach clean-ups, local authorities, non-profits, and the private sector.
The PET share of the waste is then sorted, grinded, washed and recycled and re-used in food-grade packaging materials.
Full Material Traceability
Tesco uses a blockchain platform, powered by Oracle Blockchain technology, to monitor and certifies the circularity of plastics, ensuring full material traceability.
"Where we can, we are reducing the amount of new plastic we use in our business. Re-using coastal plastic in our fish packaging is one way we can do that and at the same time keep it out of the oceans," said Sarah Bradbury, Tesco quality director.
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest packaging news. Article by Robert McHugh. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
