The changes made to its cheese packaging is part of the 4Rs strategy run by Tesco, set up to remove excess and non-recyclable materials from its business
The lines as part of the re-packaging move includes Tesco's 400g Mature Cheddar, Red Leicester and Double Gloucester products (Credit: Pixabay)
UK supermarket chain Tesco has announced it’s going to change the packaging of its own label hard cheese products in order to save 260 tonnes of plastic each year.
The saving – which is equivalent to the weight of 20 double-decker buses – has been made by switching from the traditional square block shape to oblong packaging.
As well as this, the firm has removed the current product’s re-sealable zip.
Tesco cheese buying manager Peter Wood said: “This is a revolutionary move for the UK cheese industry because the iconic square-shaped cheese packs have been around for decades.
“By changing the pack shape and also removing the re-sealable zip we will be able to reduce plastic packaging on our brand hard cheeses by up to 41% against the former product, depending on the size of the block.
“Another benefit to customers is that these new chunkier pack sizes are easier to handle so cutting, grating and slicing will be simpler.”
Cheese packaging changes a part of the 4Rs strategy run by Tesco
Tesco’s new 400g pack sizes are replacing 460g packs, with both they and the existing 220g packs having their re-sealable zip removed.
The move has seen 40 lines of the supermarket’s own brand territorial hard cheeses have been re-formatted.
The 260-tonne plastic saving will also be achieved by Tesco ditching the plastic trays these cheeses are delivered with, and will instead be sent in a new cardboard shelf-ready format.
In addition to this, the price per kilo of these cheeses has not changed.
The lines as part of the re-packaging move includes its 400g Mature Cheddar, Red Leicester and Double Gloucester products, as well as the 220g 50% Reduced Fat Mature Cheese and Welsh Mild Cheddar ranges.
The move is part of the supermarket’s ongoing 4Rs (Remove, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) strategy, set up to remove excess and non-recyclable material from its business and recycle the rest.
As a part of this work, Tesco has committed to removing a billion pieces of plastic by the end of 2020.
Coinciding with this, tinned multipacks, secondary lids and the small bags used to pack loose fruit and veg have all been removed from its stores.