Tesco to ban all own brand non-recyclable packaging

All plastic packaging that is hard to recycle is set to be banned from Tesco’s own brand products by the end of 2019, the retailer pledged on Wednesday (23 May).

The move by Britain’s largest supermarket is a dramatic attack on throwaway plastic packaging, such as stretchy PVC film and polystyrene pizza bases.

The company has said it is working with suppliers to remove all plastic packing which is hard to recycle from its own label products by the end of next year, preferring materials such as sustainable wood pulp packaging, cardboard, paper, glass, steel and aluminium.

It is likely that black plastic food trays, which are not easily recycled and cannot be recycled in the Rochdale borough, will be replaced.

Some types of plastic that can be easily collected and recycled will still be used, such as PET-based plastic bottles, and polyethylene films (used in produce bags and baked goods), which can usually be recycled at larger stores.

All plastic film packaging for bread made in 100 in store bakeries have already been removed, and replaced with paper or bring-your-own bags. This will be rolled out to around 520 stores by the end of 2019. 

The retailer says it will not switch to a new variety of plastics, such as water-soluble bioplastics and oxy degradable plastics, which break down and leave behind harmful plastic fragments, known as microplastics, which can be ingested by marine life and be destructive to the environment.

According to the Environmental Investigation Agency, the cumulative amount of plastic in the seas will rise tenfold by 2025 if nothing is done to dramatically reduce waste generation or manage it more effectively. 

Tesco is also consulting on other materials to develop a ‘closed loop’ solution, where everything used is collected and recycled, or remove from the business.

Locally, only plastic bottles without lids can be recycled, but in neighbouring Whitworth, where the bins are collected by Rossendale Council, various other forms of plastic can be collected.

Jason Tarry, Tesco Chief Product Officer, said: “We are committed to reducing the total amount of packaging used across our business. Ideally, we would like to move to a closed loop system. 

“We will work with our suppliers to redesign and reduce all packaging materials and after consultation with our leading suppliers earlier this year we will remove all packaging that is hard to recycle from our business by 2019.

“To complete the journey to a closed loop approach, we stand ready to work with government to reform the current approach to recycling in the UK.”

Tesco has also supported the introduction of a deposit and return scheme (DRS) for drinks bottles and cans, a forthcoming system in the UK modelled after similar schemes in Europe.

In Germany, where a DRS scheme was introduced 15 years ago, recycling rates of plastic bottles have increased to an impressive 99%.

According to the Guardian, just 43% of the 13 billion plastic bottles sold every year in the UK are currently recycled, and 700,000 littered every single day.