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Morrisons moves to carbon milk packaging to reduce plastic

The new fresh milk Tetra Pak cartons are made from plant-based paperboard, and they feature a thin layer of plastic coating and twist caps made from polyethylene

Morrisons has announced it has become the first UK supermarket to sell its own brand fresh milk in carbon neutral cartons, with nine types of Morrisons fresh milk to be sold in Tetra Pak cartons from mid-February to save an initial 100 tonnes of plastic a year.

Morrisons has also moved the majority of its own label fresh juice from plastic bottles to cartons in a bid to remove another 678 tonnes of plastic per annum.

The company said fresh milk is currently one of the single biggest users of plastic packaging within UK supermarkets, accounting for approximately 10% of all plastic used.

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The new Morrisons fresh milk Tetra Pak cartons are made from plant-based paperboard which is FSC certified, and they feature a thin layer of plastic coating and twist caps made from polyethylene which is derived from sustainably sourced sugarcane.

The Tetra Pak cartons are recyclable at kerbside in most UK regions and at recycling banks across the country. 

The nine Morrisons fresh milk products in Tetra Pak cartons come in 500ml, 1 litre and 2 litre sizes and cover skimmed, semi-skimmed and whole milk options, and 14 of Morrisons’ 19 fresh juice products have also moved over. 

Additionally, Morrisons has committed to a 50% reduction across its own brand primary plastic packaging by 2025 and, since 2017, it has reduced its own brand plastic packaging by over 8,000 tonnes a year and replaced another 7,000 tonnes so that it is fully recyclable. 

Tony Fearon, dairy category director at Morrisons, said: “Fresh milk is the top user of plastic packaging in our stores, so this will result in significant plastic reduction. Tetra Pak has also been independently verified as a better sustainable packaging option. If customers take to it, we could be looking to move all of our fresh milk to Tetra Pak cartons in time.”

Hugh Jones, managing director of Advisory at the Carbon Trust, added: “We welcome this move by Morrisons towards reducing the environmental impact of its milk packaging.

“Our Carbon Trust ‘Carbon Neutral’ label, which will feature on these milk products in their new Tetra Pak packaging, recognises the CO2 reduction of this move and certifies that the cradle-to-grave carbon footprint of the packaging is in line with targets.”

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