Tesco announces that plastic waste found in coastal areas is now being collected and recycled and used again in the supermarket’s fresh fish packaging.
The supermarket says that within the “next week” many of its fresh Salmon, Haddock, Cod and Sea Bass lines will be sold for the first time in trays that contain at least 30% Recycled Coastal Plastic collected from beaches, coastlines and coastal communities around the Mediterranean Sea.
Tesco says the new packaging is expected to remove around 500 metric tonnes of plastic from the environment each year and reduce the amount of “virgin plastic” required in the packaging.
The plastic waste consisting of Polypropylene, PET, Polyethylene and other types of plastic, is collected from at-risk coastal areas such as beaches, and coastal communities within 10 km from the sea, Tesco says, preventing it from entering the Mediterranean Sea.
Tesco says that collection and processing are undertaken with “full transparency and traceability” and certified by the non-profit organisation Keep Sea Blue, which works with organisations across the supply chain.
Where we can, we are reducing the amount of new plastic we use in our business.
The plastic is recovered initially by a network of collectors across the Mediterranean, including volunteer groups involved in beach clean-ups, local authorities, non-profits and the private sector, Tesco says.
The supermarket continues that the PET share of the waste is then sorted, ground, washed and recycled into food-grade packaging materials.
Through its customised Blockchain Platform, powered by Oracle Blockchain technology, the organisation monitors and certifies the circularity of plastics ensuring full material traceability, Tesco says.
Commenting on the announcement, Sarah Bradbury, Tesco’s Quality Director, said: “Where we can, we are reducing the amount of new plastic we use in our business. Re-using coastal plastic in our fish packaging is one way we can do that and at the same time keep it out of the oceans.”
