Princes to increase its use of recycled plastic again

Princes is increasing its use of recycled plastic, rolling out shrink-wrap packaging made from 50 per cent post-consumer recycled waste (PCRW).

By the end of 2019 all the supplier’s UK-made brands, including Crosse & Blackwell, Branston, Aqua Pura and Jucee, along with all Princes products for own-label, will come packed in the sustainable wrapping.

In light of this, Prices says it would help reduce the amount of plastic sent to landfill across the country by up to 1,000 tonnes.

Polyethylene waste will be collected from supermarkets, washed, shredded and formed into pellets for extrusion into new wrapping.

In May, Princes pledged to roll out 51 per cent rPET in all its plastic bottles for ambient soft drinks and oils. Two months later, it announced all high-density polyethylene bottles for its chilled juice drinks would be made using 30 per cent recycled material.

The Grocer reports David McDiarmid, Corporate Relations Director, said the company “made huge progress increasing the recycled content of the plastic we use, and this is a further milestone for us.Collation of shrink film around cases and on multipacks represents the second largest use of plastic in our UK manufacturing operations by weight, so it’s a significant step.”

Princes goal was “to reach the maximum possible recycled content for all the plastics we use as soon as we possibly can and preferably with UK material” he added.

“We hope this helps stimulate an increase in the feed stock of plastics to the UK recycling industry as collections improve, consumers recycle more and technology advances. This is fundamental to ensuring a circular economy is achievable for plastic in the UK.”