Sainsbury's has announced plans to introduce refillable milk bottles, remove plastic film on fruit and veg and trial a 'pre-cycle' for customers to remove unwanted packaging as part of plans to reduce its plastic packaging by 50 per cent by 2025.
The ambitious new plans, announced today (Friday 13th September), include all Sainsbury's branded food packaging and plastic use in all of the company's operations.
Sainsbury's called for a "transformational leap in thinking" in the industry in order to make an impact.
The supermarket chain says that following "rigorous analysis of its plastic footprint" it found plastic milk bottles, packaging for fruit and vegetables, fizzy drinks, water and fruit juices to be the biggest offenders.
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To combat this, the company is considering the introduction of refillable bottles, introducing returnable milk bottles or offering a reusable jug with milk in a lightweight plastic pouch.
Other key changes include the removal of all lightweight loose produce bags (set to be implemented this month, saving 489 tonnes of plastic), the removal of plastic trays from the veg stand (including asparagus and sweetcorn, cream pots, tomatoes, carrots, and herb pots), and the replacement of black plastic trays on fresh food with recyclable alternatives 6000 tonnes) by the end of this year.
What's more, Sainsbury's are endeavouring to replace plastic film on fruit and vegetables with a recyclable alternative (2518 tonnes) by end 2020, ensure own brand flushable wipes meet 'Fine to Flush' standards and replace plastic cutlery with wooden cutlery in its Food to Go departments, saving 38 tonnes of plastic.
In addition, fresh water stands will be available for customers to refill their own water bottles in supermarket cafe's and customers will be encouraged to bring their own containers to meat and deli counters.
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The supermarket will also be trialling a 'pre-cycle' area in stores for customers to remove unwanted packaging and leave it for recycling, as well as widen their recycling facilities to a further 125 stores, begin working with collaborators to come up with new packaging and recycling technologies, and pilot Deposit Return Schemes so customers can return recyclable packaging easily.
Sainsbury's is also open sourcing ideas from customers, colleagues, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and other interested parties to help reduce plastic waste.
The supermarket - who admit to only reducing plastic by one per cent in 2018 - is working with Greenpeace on the commitment and promises to publicly report on progress every six months.
Mike Coupe, Chief Executive of Sainsbury's, said: "We have set ourselves a bold ambition because we understand that we urgently need to reduce our impact on the planet and to help drive change across our industry.
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"Reducing plastic and packaging is not easy. Packaging plays a vital role in keeping our food safe and fresh and minimising food waste. We must therefore find alternatives to plastic that protect the quality of our food while minimising our impact on the environment.
"We can't do this on our own and we will be asking our suppliers and our customers to work with us to help us make this important change."
Theresa Villiers, Environment Secretary, said: "I commend the leadership shown by Sainsbury's and their efforts to introduce new industry-wide standards and reporting, ensuring that our environment is protected for future generations.
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"This is a brilliant example of the integral role business has to play in cutting plastic waste, empowering consumers to make more sustainable choices."
While other major supermarkets have been making positive changes regarding single-use plastics - including Aldi's trialling of paper bags and Tesco's pledge to ban any brands that use excessive packaging - Sainsbury's is the first commitment of this scale to be made.
Good going, Sainsbury's! Other supermarkets, it's your turn.
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