This rollout follows a successful ten-store trial where customers responded positively, returning more than ten times the expected amount of plastic
Tesco’s collection points will enable customers to return all their previously unrecycled soft plastic, regardless of where they bought it (Credit: Tesco)
Tesco has begun rolling out soft plastic recycling points to 171 stores in the UK in the south-west of England Wales, with the plan to roll it out to all large stores nationwide.
This will be the first time that the UK has had a network of collection points of this size dedicated to the collection of soft plastic.
The reason why the firm is focusing on this material is because most councils don’t collect soft plastics from homes for recycling, with it often going to landfill.
Tesco’s director of quality Sarah Bradbury said: “It is an absolute priority to remove and reduce as much plastic as possible and ensure everything we use is recycled and kept out of the environment.
“Where plastic serves an important purpose such as reducing food waste, these new recycling points make sure that every piece can be easily recycled.
“Trials have shown they are popular with customers, so we believe rolling them out at scale will have a real impact.”
Soft plastic recycling scheme rollout follows a successful trial run by Tesco
Tesco’s collection points will enable customers to return all their previously unrecycled soft plastic, regardless of where they bought it.
These include cling film, pet food pouches and crisp packets to recycling points at their local store, rather than having to throw it away.
Once collected, the old soft plastic is sent for recycling where it is washed, sorted and processed before being turned into new packaging, which will be used to pack items such as food, household and beauty products.
This rollout follows a successful ten-store trial where customers responded positively, returning more than ten times the expected amount of plastic.
The material has already been used to produce food-grade packaging for a selection of Tesco cheeses.
The most common items to be returned during the trial were bread bags, fruit and vegetable packaging, crisp packets, salad bags, and baby and pet food pouches.
Environmental charity the World Wildlife Fund’s sustainable materials specialist Paula Chin said: “Plastic pollution is one of the most visible symptoms of the environmental crisis and is devastating our natural world.
“Businesses, governments and households have all got an important part to play in tackling the issue, so it’s encouraging to see Tesco extending their successful soft plastics collection trial across more of their stores, giving their customers even more opportunity to recycle these valuable materials.”