CEO Dave Lewis has outlined his recycling targets for Tesco and its suppliers "but wider collaboration is needed" he said.
In a piece written by Lewis and published in The Guardian, he said: "The proliferation of plastic in society remains a challenge, and something everyone involved in the consumer goods industry must tackle. But plastic is part of a bigger packaging conundrum, one that we need to address in full."
"And as we move into the second phase of our packaging plan, that’s what we are trying to do." He said.
4Rs
Lewis said that at Tesco its approach to packaging is based on 4Rs – remove, reduce, reuse and recycle. "The order of these words matters," he said.
"In the first quarter of 2018, we audited all packaging materials in our business and we’re taking action to; remove all non-recyclable and unnecessary packaging; where we can’t remove, reduce it to an absolute minimum including excess packaging; explore new opportunities to reuse it and if we can’t, then ensure it is all recycled as part of a closed-loop."
In the Guardian, he outlined that some packaging and some plastics can be extremely useful to help prevent other kinds of waste, like food waste.
"Where this is the case, we’re finding recyclable or re-usable alternatives," he added.
Excessive Packaging
He highlighted how packaging on consumer goods has been excessive.
"We have all looked at the settled contents of a cereal packet and puzzled over the comparative size of the bag and box," he stated, "or opened a bag of crisps and wondered why the packaging is twice the size of the contents."
"This month, we brought together our partner suppliers to look for truly efficient solutions, ones that might require different materials and new designs. In some cases, it will mean going back to the drawing board," he said.
"All of this will take a huge amount of effort. Overhauling every piece of packaging in a business is hard, but it has got to be done. The potential to make a positive impact is significant given the breadth of our supply chain."
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
