Sainsbury’s to halve plastic packaging by 2025

Supermarket reveals plans to cut plastic by 50% and look at reusable and refillable packaging

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Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has announced it will halve its plastic footprint by 2025, and will look at introducing reusable and refillable packaging.

The retailer will report its progress on plastic reduction every six months, and focus its efforts on products such as milk bottles, fruit and vegetables, fizzy drinks, water and fruit juices – covering both branded and own-branded items.

It follows a campaign from Greenpeace urging Sainsbury’s to do better on plastics, after it came last in Greenpeace’s 2018 supermarket survey.

Louise Edge, head of Greenpeace UK’s ocean plastics campaign, said: “Last year we ranked UK supermarkets on their plastic policies and Sainsbury’s came last in the league table.This commitment from Sainsbury’s to cut plastic by 50% by 2025 is a victory for the tens of thousands of customers who lobbied them to do better on plastic.

“We commend Sainsbury’s for listening and recognising that huge plastic reduction and bringing in refillable packaging at scale are vital to tackling the plastic pollution crisis. Sainsbury’s should prioritise these solutions rather than switching to other types of throwaway packaging and we stand ready to help them achieve this ambitious goal.”

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