Sainsbury’s to halve plastic packaging by 2025

Sainsbury’s has announced a new commitment to reduce plastic packaging by 50% by 2025.

This new target includes all branded food packaging, Sainsbury’s brand food packaging and packaging across all of its operations.

The ‘Big Four’ gorcer currently uses almost 120,000 tonnes of plastic packaging per year and believes a “transformational leap in thinking” is required to move the industry beyond existing efforts at reducing packaging. Sainsbury’s reduced plastic packaging by 1% in 2018.

To meet this goal, the retailer said it will launch a programme to accelerate change, which will include switching to alternative materials, using lighter-weight plastics and introducing refillable packaging at scale.

A statement by the retailer read: “Sainsbury’s recognises it cannot achieve this commitment on its own. To achieve its ambition, Sainsbury’s will pioneer new ways to collaborate with food manufacturers, packaging suppliers, raw material scientists and other retailers, alongside the waste and recycling industry.

“To kickstart this collaboration, Sainsbury’s is co-hosting a summit with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), today Friday 13 September, which will bring together branded suppliers, researchers and government stakeholders to identify potential breakthrough innovation projects.”