Thursday 12 March 2020

Iceland slashes annual plastic packaging use by 29%

Iceland slashes annual plastic packaging use by 29%

Iceland has slashed 29% of plastic from its annual packaging usage.

Two years after making its "industry-leading pledge", the supermarket chain says it has removed 3,794 tonnes of plastic to date, the equivalent weight of 36 blue whales.

Iceland has committed to entirely removing plastic from its own-brand ranges by the end of 2023.

Richard Walker, Managing Director at Iceland, said: "The scale of the challenge we have taken on is huge, partly because of the lack of alternative solutions in some instances, the infrastructure in the manufacturing industry which in many cases is built around plastic usage and of course the fact that we are the only retailer to have made a ‘totality’ commitment.

"Whilst we have seen a promising shift away from plastic usage across the industry and a significant increase in consumer awareness of the issue since the beginning of 2018, we remain the only retailer to have made this pledge. We’re now looking ahead to the next phase of our journey, whilst continuing to engage our customers by finding scalable and user friendly solutions, truly democratising choice to make sustainable packaging options an affordable reality for everyone."

Iceland has recycled more than one million plastic bottles since the launch of its reverse vending machine scheme in Britain last year.

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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