UK retailer Tesco has introduced paper packaging for its own-brand dried pasta SKUs under the Finest range.
The paper packaging will allow Tesco to save more than 10 million pieces of plastic a year, weighing more than 30 tonnes, the company added.
Ten SKUs in the Finest range already feature the new packaging, which is recyclable and can be put into household recycling bins.
The product will also be rolled out in Tesco Express stores.
Claire Lorains, group sustainability and quality director at Tesco, stated, “Removing unnecessary plastic is an important way that Tesco can reduce its environmental impact. The new paper packaging works just as well as the old plastic but can be popped into your normal recycling bin with other paper.
“We're proud of the work we’ve done so far to reduce the plastic we use at Tesco but will continue to look for ways to do more."
Packaging Strategy
In 2019, Tesco introduced the 4Rs packaging strategy (Remove, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), and has since removed more than 2.3 billion pieces of plastic from its UK operations.
This year, the retailer became the first supermarket to scrap plastic packaging for its own brand pocket tissue multi-packs. The company replaced it with recyclable paper, saving more than 55 million pieces of soft plastic.
Tesco also launched a new range of luxury soft toilet rolls and kitchen towels made from cardboard recycled from home delivery boxes, cardboard tubes from toilet rolls, and corrugated card waste.
The pulp in this packaging is produced using a process that consumes less water and energy as well as fewer chemicals compared to traditional methods that rely on tree fibre as the raw material.
