Sainsbury’s swaps steak plastic trays for sustainable cardboard alternative

Sainsbury’s has announced it is removing plastic trays from its steak range and replacing them with a cardboard alternative that uses 70% less plastic. 

The new trays, which are available from today (5 July), are launching across 10 products in the range. Previously, Sainsbury’s had already introduced cardboard trays to its ‘taste the difference’ and ‘so organic’ steaks. 

The move is expected to save 249 tonnes of plastic each year and forms part of Sainsbury’s commitment to half its use of own brand plastic packaging by 2025.

The announcement follows a string of packaging changes made by the retailer. In April, Sainsbury’s completely eliminated trays on whole chickens as well as removing plastic bags from its bananas, saving 192 tonnes of plastic. 

It was also the first retailer to introduce cardboard cartons to its own laundry detergent range, saving 22 tonnes of plastic a year. 

Claire Hughes, director of product and innovation at Sainsbury’s, said: “As part of our Plan for Better commitments, we are trying to reduce plastic packaging across our own brand ranges, as we know that reducing plastic is important to our customers but also to our environmental impact. It’s why we are always looking at ways to innovate our packaging and reduce or replace plastic wherever we can, as quickly as we can.

“We’re pleased to save another 10 million pieces of plastic a year by swapping our Sainsbury’s steak trays to cardboard following the changes we have already made on so organic and taste the difference packaging. While we are making good progress, we know there is more to do and we are committed to making bold changes that help us achieve our plastic reduction targets.”