Lidl incorporating Prevented Ocean Plastic into its water bottles
Lidl GB has announced that it will be incorporating Prevented Ocean Plastic into its water bottles – claims that they are the first UK supermarket to make this change.
Lidl’s 1 litre San Celestino Italian Sparkling Mineral Water bottles will contain a minimum of 30% Prevented Ocean Plastic.
With 12 million bottles of the everyday item sold annually, the company expects this initiative to save almost 100 tonnes of plastic from entering our oceans per year, equivalent to almost 4 million plastic water bottles.
The move builds on the discounter’s previous efforts in this space. Lidl claims it has been ‘leading the way’ since 2020, when it claims it became the first UK supermarket to introduce food packaging using Prevented Ocean Plastic . Since then, it has been rolled out across a range of Lidl’s own-brand fresh fish, breaded poultry, sausage and fresh fruit products.
Doubling down on their commitments, Lidl is also taking steps to improve the recyclability of its plastic. Last year, the discounter transitioned its semi-skimmed fresh milk with supplier Müller2 over to clear caps.
Over the next two months, in partnership with both Müller and Cornish Farm, it is transitioning its entire milk range to clear caps.
Shyam Unarket, Head of Responsible Sourcing and Ethical Trade at Lidl GB said: “Ocean plastic pollution is a pressing environmental concern, it is expected that by 2050 there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish. As pioneers of integrating ocean bound plastic into our packaging in 2020, we have been consistently building and improving on our efforts since, and are proud to now extend Prevented Ocean Plastic™ into water bottles. Through this latest product development, we hope to inspire wider efforts across the industry.”
Prevented Ocean Plastic packaging, supplied and developed in conjunction with Bantam Materials, is made from discarded water bottles found in Southeast Asia within 30 miles of a coastline or major waterway that feeds into the ocean. This waste is then sorted and processed before being used in packaging. The company claims that the entire process is fully traceable with a robust documented chain of accountability.