Iceland, the UK’s leading frozen food specialist, is committing to become the first major retailer globally to eliminate plastic packaging from all of its own brand products by the end of 2023.
Iceland’s Plastic-Free Fruit & Veg Aisle: Saving The Planet And Your Money
There was a time you could expect to find a greengrocers’ shop in most town centres, and loose fruit and veg was the norm. Now, as part of their pledge to become plastic-free by 2023, the Iceland supermarket chain is revisiting those bygone days with a new range of loose fruit and vegetables they say will be even cheaper than the packaged equivalents.
#TooCoolForPlastic — We must all take responsibility
Iceland, the UK’s leading frozen food retailer, has launched a plastic-free greengrocer trial at its ‘Food Warehouse’ store in north Liverpool, and will sell 35 different loose fruit and veg lines. There will also be 27 lines in plastic-free packaging including paper bags with a tracing paper window, compostable punnets, and cotton and cellulose nets.
Celery and spring onions will be sold in rubber bands, and satsumas and onions will be sold in nets as part of the trial.
Iceland, which has more than 900 stores in the UK, said the move builds towards its goal of removing plastic packaging from all own-brand products by the end of 2023. Last year, it removed plastic packaging from bananas and lemons across all stores.
“Over 12 million tonnes of plastic enters the world’s oceans every year and the retail industry can no longer ignore the plastics tidal wave which is coming our way,” Iceland’s managing director, Richard Walker, said in a statement. “We all have a part to play in tackling the issue and Iceland is constantly looking for ways to reduce its own plastic footprint, as we work towards our commitment.”
Supermarkets have been turning their backs on plastic over the past year, to appease public concerns over the environmental impact. Marks & Spencer launched a similar trial on 90 fruit and veg lines in January, and Morrisons replaced plastic bags with paper bags for its loose fruit and veg in June.
By now most of us appreciate we must all do what we can as idividuals, but it is also of vital importance that retailers do their bit too. We all need to chip in, from producers, packaging companies, retailers, and consumers, it’s an achievable and realistic goal if we all take responsibility together.
Follow #TooCoolForPlastic on Twitter OR #TooCoolForPlastic on Instagram
Source: HuffingtonPost.co.uk
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