Sainsbury’s to introduce ‘pre-cycling’ as part of new plastic packaging pledge

Sainsbury’s is to trial a scheme allowing customers to remove plastic packaging from their groceries and leave it for recycling before taking items home.

In its latest round of commitments to reduce its use of plastic packaging, the 'big four' supermarket says the ‘pre-cycling’ system will ensure that the that food remains protected through the supply chain and up to the point of purchase, but offers the customer the option to recycle unwanted primary and secondary packaging before leaving the store.

In addition, Sainsbury’s will end the use of dark coloured plastics across its fresh foods by the end of 2019 and entirely by March 2020; remove all plastic packaging from its Christmas crackers this year; and remove plastic packaging from all sweetheart and savoy cabbages as of 30 April 2019.

The supermarket has previously implemented measures that are leading to a reduction of 8,101 tonnes of non-recyclable plastic and use of virgin plastic every year. Over the next twelve months, Sainsbury’s says it will remove a further 1280 tonnes of plastic from products and ensure all plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

CEO, Mike Coupe, said: “We are serious about reducing plastic. For many years, Sainsbury’s has prioritised sustainability and sought innovative solutions to reduce plastic packaging and increase recycling. Today’s announcements show what we have already achieved and demonstrate our firm commitments for the future to make significant reductions in plastic use.”

Sainsbury’s has recently come under fire from Greenpeace, after the environmental pressure group found the supermarket to have the most online complaints about its use of plastics in 2018.

Campaigners from Greenpeace attended Sainsbury’s London headquarters armed with messages, signs and audio recordings in the hope that it would stimulate the retailer into strengthening its commitments to plastic packaging reduction, reuse and recycling.