Tesco will replace plastic-wrapped multipacks with plastic-free multibuys on tinned food, eliminating 350 tonnes of plastic from the environment.
183,000 tinned multipacks are bought every day at Tesco. The supermarket giant has announced it will become the first UK retailer to remove them from all Tesco stores and replace them with plastic-free multibuys.
This will see 67 million pieces of plastic eliminated. Tesco says.
Tesco CEO Dave Lewis said: “We are removing all unnecessary and non-recyclable plastic from Tesco. As part of this work, removing plastic wrapped multipacks from every Tesco store in the UK will cut 350 tonnes of plastic from the environment every year and customers will still benefit from the same great value ‘multipack’ price. This is part of our plan to remove 1 billion pieces of plastic in 2020.”
Tins will be available individually, with no plastic wrap holding them together any more. They’ll still be eligible for multibuy deals, representing the same good value for customers, just without plastic.
We need to remove unnecessary single-use plastic wherever possible, to stop the contamination of the natural world.
More than 40% of Tesco customers include multipacks in their shop. Multipacks of baked beans, tuna, tinned tomatoes and soup are among the most frequently-bought grocery items in the UK.
The change applies to both Tesco own brand products and branded products, like Heinz Beanz. It will help more than eight million households in the UK reduce the amount of plastic they use. It contributes to Tesco’s commitment to remove 1bn pieces of plastic from its own brand products by the end of 2020.
Georgiana de Noronha, President of Kraft Heinz Northern Europe, said: “We’re excited to be partnering with Tesco on this. While we know we have more to do, this initiative is good news for the environment, and for the millions of people who enjoy Heinz varieties every day, as they’ll still be able to benefit from the same great value for money.”
Paula Chin, Sustainable Materials Specialist at WWF, said: “WWF supports Tesco’s steps in the fight against plastic pollution. We need to remove unnecessary single-use plastic wherever possible, to stop the contamination of the natural world. If we want to protect nature we need more businesses to follow Tesco’s lead, before we run out of time to fight for our world.”
The changes will be rolled out in stores from March 2nd, with no further plastic-wrapped multipacks ordered by Tesco from that date. Remaining stock will be allowed to sell-through.