As part of its commitment to eliminate plastic from its own-brand products, UK retailer The Co-operative has removed the plastic packaging from its private label Easter eggs.
The move will save over 14 tonnes of plastic, the retailer said.
Excessive Packaging
Commenting on the move, Iain Ferguson, environment manager at the Co-op, said, “Easter egg packaging is renowned for its excessive use of unnecessary plastic, whether to protect the chocolate or to display the design of the confectionery."
Ferguson believes that the solution created by the retailer, which allows the customer to still view the product, "is a really positive step within the packaging industry."
It's not the first move that the retailer has made to remove unnecessary plastic, having switched its 500ml, 750ml, one litre, and two litre own-brand still, sparkling, and flavoured water, carbonated drinks, and mixers to bottles made out of 100% recycled material.
The group aims to make 100% of its own-brand products recyclable by the end of 2021. The switch to recyclable material for its bottles will save over 1,400 tonnes of new plastic being produced each year.
Co-op will also be removing plastic forks from its food-to-go ranges, saving 59 tonnes of plastic.
Sustainable Christmas
As well as the changes to its Easter products, the retailer had a more sustainable Christmas, as it removed all plastic and glitter from its 2020 Christmas celebration range, cutting out 1.1 million pieces of plastic.
Paula Chin, sustainable materials specialist at WWF-UK, commended the efforts made by the group, saying "it is great to see businesses like Co-op tackling our throwaway culture head-on."
Chin added that she hopes other businesses and producers will take "greater responsibility" to reduce everyday plastic use.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
