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Tesco will stop using carrier bags to deliver groceries from its online business as part of its work to use less plastic.
The move will mean that 250 million fewer carrier bags will be delivered to customers’ homes each year and nearly two thousand tonnes of plastic will come out of production annually.
Tesco said delivery drivers will be ready to offer customers a “helping hand” with the changes by taking groceries out of the reusable trays and into customers’ kitchens.
The decision to roll out carrier bag-free deliveries follows 28 weeks of successful trials involving 33 stores.
Tesco quality director, Sarah Bradbury said: “We’re looking for ways to reduce the amount of plastic we use. We know it’s an important issue for customers, colleagues and our business and we know we have to do more. Removing carrier bags from our online shopping is one of the many ways we are making changes to help customers reduce their use of plastic.
“Right now, we’re reviewing all our packaging, including plastic, looking to remove where possible. Where it’s not right to remove we will reduce, help customers reuse and ensure all packaging can be recycled. Our scale means a simple, straightforward change can have such a big impact.”
By the end of the year, Tesco will have removed the hardest to recycle materials from its own brand packaging. As a result, 570 more products now have widely recyclable packaging, and around 3,000 tonnes of “bad”, hard-to-recycle, plastics have been removed in the process.
