Frozen food retailer Iceland has announced that it intends to help cut back on the one million tonnes of plastic generated by UK supermarkets annually by eliminating plastic packaging from its own-brand products by the end of 2023.
The transition has already begun and the company has said it intends to use all the latest technology at its disposal to create a packaging range that comprises paper bags, pulp trays and paper, all of which will be completely recyclable through in-store facilities or household waste collection.
Plastic disposable straws have already been removed from its own-label range and new food ranges expected to be in shops at the start of this year will have paper-based food trays instead of plastic.
A survey of 5,000 customers showed that 80 per cent would support a supermarket’s move to go plastic. What’s more, 91 per cent would be more inclined to encourage family and friends to shop somewhere if the supermarket had a plastic-free stance.
“There really is no excuse any more for excessive packaging that creates needless waste and damages our environment. The technologies and practicalities to create less environmentally harmful alternatives exist, and so Iceland is putting a stake in the ground,” managing director Richard Walker commented.
The city of Plymouth, meanwhile, has also just made a similar announcement, saying that it wants to be the first township in the UK to get rid of single use plastics. It wants to become the first Plastic Free Coastline accredited city in Britain by the year 2020.
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