Tesco is set to launch the “UK’s first ever” tubeless kitchen foil in a move the supermarket said will reduce the need for 12.5 million cardboard rolls to be produced each year.
The supermarket said the move, which is part of Tesco’s commitment to cut down on “unnecessary packaging”, will save 330 tonnes of cardboard each year. Tesco said the redesigned aluminium foil was made possible because of its new state-of-the-art rolling machine.
The machine allows the aluminium foil to be rolled tightly around a spindle that has air vents in it, which removes the need for cardboard, Tesco said. Pumping air into the vents allows the aluminium foil to be gently released.
Since 2020, Tesco said it has reduced packaging by over 4,500 tonnes as part of its 4Rs packaging strategy. The strategy commits the supermarket to “removing plastic where it can, reducing where it can’t and looking at ways to reuse more and recycle what’s left”.
We are continually looking at ways in which we can cut down on packaging in order to help the environment.
Commenting on the new packaging, Tesco Technical Manager Bronwen Williams, said: “This new machine has revolutionised foil production, saving hundreds of tonnes of cardboard from needlessly being made in the first place.
“We are continually looking at ways in which we can cut down on packaging in order to help the environment and hope, after starting with our top-selling kitchen foil line, that we will be able to apply this to the rest of our foil range.”
Two years ago, Tesco launched toilet rolls with double the amount of paper on them, which it said saves nearly 70 tonnes of plastic packaging each year by either fitting more paper onto each roll or winding rolls more tightly, so they take up less space.
Last year, the supermarket began recycling used plastic food trays back into packaging in what it called an “industry first”. Teso said the process creates a “fully circular packaging solution” for its range of core chilled ready meals.
