UK supermarket Tesco has announced plans to eliminate plastic-wrapped multipacks from its stores, in a move expected to remove 350 tonnes of plastic from the environment.
Every day, Britain buys 183,000 tinned multipacks from Tesco shops, and the decision is expected to remove 67 million pieces of plastic from circulation.
Tesco will be the first UK retailer to remove this type of plastic wrapping.
In a statement, chief executive officer Dave Lewis said: “We are removing all unnecessary and non-recyclable plastic from Tesco. As part of this work, removing plastic wrapped multipacks from every Tesco store in the UK will cut 350 tonnes of plastic from the environment every year and customers will still benefit from the same great value “multipack” price. This is part of our plan to remove one billion pieces of plastic in 2020.”
Products affected by the decision include Tesco and Heinz soups; Tesco, Heinz and Branston baked beans, and Tesco, Princes and John West tuna.
The move is part of Tesco’s “4Rs strategy” (to remove, reduce, reuse and recycle), under which it aims to promote a “closed loop system”.
In August last year, Tesco briefed 1,500 suppliers that packaging “will be a factor in its decisions on which products are sold in its stores”, according to the statement.
Taken from CIWM Circular January/February 2020
