Asda said that the new commitment, which is five years ahead of its original deadline, reduces nearly 19,500 tonnes of ‘virgin’ plastic
Image: Asda speeds up efforts to reduce plastic usage. Photo: courtesy of ASDA.
UK-based supermarket retailer Asda has pledged to use 30% recycled content in its plastic packaging by the end of 2020 in a move to accelerate its current commitment to reduce the use of plastic.
The retailer said that the new commitment, which is five years ahead of its original deadline, reduces nearly 19,500 tonnes of ‘virgin’ plastic.
Furthermore, the UK-based firm has set its next target to reduce the total amount of plastic used in its own-brand packaging by 15% by February 2021.
Asda CEO Roger Burnley said: “The elimination of avoidable plastic, and crucially single-use plastic, is at the top of our minds – and at the top of our customers’ minds.
“Our focus is on removing unnecessary plastic, and where packaging is beneficial to the life of a product we will trial new solutions that are as recycled and as recyclable as possible.”
As part of its ‘test and learn’ approach, Asda set to trial new refillable and reusable packaging solutions next year.
Some of the initiatives taken by Asda to reduce plastic usage
The retailer has removed over 6,500 tonnes of plastic packaging from its own brand range that is equal to the weight of 600 million plastic bottles since February 2018.
Additionally, the supermarket has committed not to produce non-detectable black plastic in its own-brand by the end of 2019 and to make all of its own-brand packaging 100% recyclable by 2025.
Over the past 18 months, the supermarket has removed 110 million plastic straws from both its cafes and in its party range and also introduced reusable fresh produce bags.
Earlier this month, Asda introduced reusable fruit and veg bags and plastic-free herbs to reduce plastic use.
The reusable bags, priced at £1 for three, are made from 100% recycled plastic bottles and are machine washable. They are claimed to provide customers with an affordable, reusable alternative to single-use plastic fruit and veg bags.